As municipalities across the Lower Mainland consider a ban on plastic straws, the race for an eco-friendly replacement has led back to the dinner plate.
贵谤辞尘听听迟辞听, several start-ups have thrown in their hat with the hopes that their product will come out top-straw.
But while these companies look to a lab-tested repurposing of biodegradable ingredients, one Coquitlam duo has found a more familiar solution.
Melville and Brascia have grown a loyal following on Instagram. Photo courtesy Straw-ghetti.
With two 鈥渉uge Italian families,鈥� finding answers in pasta was an easy step for partners Cory Melville and Vanessa Brascia.
In February, the two Coquitlam natives launched 鈥楽traw-ghetti,鈥� eco-friendly straws cut from tubular pasta.
Leveraging an old family connection in the Italian pasta industry, the partners looked to Brascia鈥檚 grandfather, Nonno Guiseppe Carlucci.
鈥淭he type of pasta that we use for straw-ghetti is my Nonno's favourite,鈥� said Brascia. 鈥淗e's a big inspiration behind it. He's on our packaging.鈥�
When the pasta arrives in Coquitlam from Italy, the whole family chips in, cutting and counting pasta, folding and taping boxes, and packing everything up before the straws are sent out across the Lower Mainland, including stops in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, New Westminster, Burnaby and Vancouver.
The straws are made up of just two ingredients, semolina flour and water. Even so, Brascia claims they will last two and a half hours in a drink before softening up.
Straw-ghetti comes in tall and short sizes, which means a house full of left over pastina.
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鈥淲e have bags and bags of pasta,鈥� said Brascia. 鈥淣othing is going in the garbage. We'll cook it ourselves, we'll make soup, we'll make macaroni. We want to give it away to less fortunate.鈥�
When they鈥檙e not working their day jobs 鈥� Melville is a plumber and Brascia buys construction material for film sets 鈥� they say they go door-to-door, offering straw samples to people.
So far, they have found customers in juiceries, smoothie bars, supplement stores and speciality kitchen shops.
While you might think their biggest competition would come from cutting edge rice-tapioca hybrid straws, Brascia says cheaper, paper straws are the toughest to beat.
鈥淭he market is huge right now because everyone is trying to do their part,鈥� she said.
鈥淎 lot of people will think, "Oh, god. It's just a straw. But for us, if a straw-ghetti replaced every straw in our ocean that's a big step in the right direction.鈥�
