One hundred thousands unique straws made of wheat.
The first large quantity of eco-friendly straws, “staramaki” has been produced in the last few days by a Social Cooperative Enterprise (Koinsep) in Kilkis, northern Greece. Producers have exploited the by-product of the wheat crop that is largely cultivated in the area and created a product to replace plastic straws.
The name “staramaki” deprives form the short form of σιτάρι (wheat) “stari” and “kalamaki” (straw).
Straws made of a wheat by-product aims to replace plastic straws and cover a Greek need: stay for hours in a long glass with cold coffee, the Frappe, without getting soaked and soft.
“The good thing about staramaki,that its non-porous surface does not soak, neither in hot nor cold water, so it can stay in the coffee cup for hours, unlike paper straws, marketed as alternative to plastic ones,” Stefanos Kamberis told media.
It is indicative that the wheat straws produced in China cannot be used for the needs of the Greek market and the long time for the consumption of frappe, because the variety of Asian wheat is very thin and easily soaks, he added.
The production unit is settled in a building by village Metalliko with the social enterprise to consist of -now former unemployed- Greeks and refugees. The Koinsep has nine founding members and four workers.
The handmade straws have a production cost of 13 cents. They can be washed, dried and used again.
Their vision of circular economy in a green world is not limited to wheat straws.
“It’s not just a straw, it’s a product from the local production that can meet part of the demand in Greece. It gives jobs in Kilkis and is part of the circular economy movement,” Kamberis said.
He added that they asked cafes in Kilkis to give the enterprise coffee residue, while “we, in return, give them free ‘staramakia.’
In collaboration with the Food Treasure team, about 400kg of coffee waste has been collected, with the aim of mixing it into biomass boilers with residues from the staramakia production process and to produce the craft’s thermal energy.
Response to the unique straws has been impressive and overwhelming. “We have been called form all over Greece and asked for 280 million wheat straws, Kamberis said.
However, for the time being, the company can only respond to promotion actions such as of a large company that ordered 100,000 pieces. Another 4,000 straws have been requested by the European Union Left – North Green Left in the European Parliament (Gue / NGL).
Top priority for the innovative social enterprise is currently the production of 660,000 wheat straws that can very well replace plastic ones.
Source: keeptalkinggreece
