Malaysian company RiceStraws offers an affordable alternative to plastic straws, 100% biodegradable, and of natural ingredients that are edible. Straws are made of rice as the main material, and tapioca as a coagulant. They don?t dissolve in drinks, but soften up after 2-3 hours in hot drinks and 4-10 hours in cold drinks. They are certified according to food industry standards HACCP and ISO 22000, and are also Halal-certified. While in developed countries using plastic straws has been widely reduced, are consumers in developing countries ready to pay more for this change?
Image Credit: NLYTech Biotech
More info: https://www.ricestraws.net/
This startup based in Western Sydney took four weeks of using in vitro cultivation of animal cells, instead of slaughtering, to create the first ever cell-cultured kangaroo meat grown from stem cells taken from a kangaroo. They take a small sample from the animal, isolate the correct cells, encourage them to grow and differentiate in exactly the same way they would naturally, and bring them together to create rich food products. The startup wants to turn exotic clean meat into routine but adventurous meals, and has just won a grant from the NSW Government to turn it into a Minimum Viable Product https://www.vowfood.com/
The average cafe produces 60kg of coffee grounds each week and 93% of cafes will throw them away. In landfill, these coffee grounds create greenhouse gasses (carbon dioxide and methane) which are contributing to global warming. BUT coffee grounds are quite valuable. They make the perfect growing base for oyster mushrooms! BeanCycled is providing grow at home mushroom farms as well as composting projects for preschools and community gardens. www.beancycled.com.au
