可以 吃的 环保意面吸管

Roughly 8.5 billion plastic straws are used in the UK each year， but as a new ban takes effect in April， 2020， that number will shrink to zero.

英国每年大约使用85亿根塑料吸管，但2020年4月一项新禁令实施之后，吸管的使用数量就会减少至零。

One start-up is hoping to corner the market for alternative straws using an unlikely material： pasta.

一家初創企业希望用一款另类吸管来垄断市场，这种吸管是用一种难以想象的材料——意粉制成的。

“It ticks all the boxes in terms of functionality as a plastic straw that everyone has been used to growing up，” says Maxim Gelmann， founder of Stroodles， the start-up.

“它就像我们成长过程中习惯使用的那种塑料吸管一样，拥有其全部功能。”Stroodles这家初创企业的总裁马克西姆·格尔曼说道。

The straws， made by an Italian manufacturer that also produces regular pasta， are the same shape and size as a standard plastic straw.

这种吸管是一家意大利生产商生产的，该厂商还生产普通的意大利面。这种吸管的形状和尺寸与标准塑料吸管的相同。

Unlike a paper straw， they dont taste like wet paper; they dont change the flavor of the drink. They last at least an hour， and longer in colder drinks.

它们不像纸质吸管那样，尝起来就像潮湿的纸一样;而且它们也不会改变饮料的味道。它们至少可以持续使用一个小时，如果用来喝冷饮的话，使用的时间会更长一些。

“Lets say you have your gin and tonic and then you refill it with ice， it goes even longer，” Gelmann says.

“例如，你要了一杯金酒加汤力水，然后你又加了冰块，这种吸管就可以使用更长时间。”戈尔曼说道。

If youre nursing a drink for hours and the pasta eventually softens， you can choose to eat it （the raw straw is also edible， and Gelmann says that some people snack on them）.

如果你一杯饮料喝了几个小时，这根意面做的吸管最终会软化，你可以选择吃掉它（未使用的吸管也是可以食用的，而且格尔曼表示，有人把这种吸管当零食吃）。

A handful of other pasta-straw start-ups also exist， though Stroodles is hoping to differentiate itself with a smoother， more plastic-like texture and its branding.

虽然Stroodles公司希望用更光滑、更像塑料的材质来使其产品和品牌具有差异化，但市面上还有其他几家生产意面吸管的初创企业。

Its more expensive to make a Pasta-straw than a plastic straw， but at large volumes， it can compete with the cost of paper straws.

生产意面吸管的成本比塑料吸管的要高，但大批量生产的话，其成本与纸质吸管的成本相当。

Because of the coming ban， “no one really compares us with plastic anymore，” Gelmann says. “They compare us with paper straw prices， which makes my argument much easier.”

因为即将执行的禁令，“没人再拿我们的价格与塑料吸管作比较了。”格尔曼说道，“他们拿我们的价格与纸质吸管做比较，这使我更容易说服他们。”

Other alternatives， like bamboo or stainless steel， are more expensive and arguably a less elegant solution; some bars say that patrons dont trust the idea that stainless steel straws can be fully sanitized.

其他的替代品，例如竹制吸管或不锈钢吸管更贵，而且可以说是一种不那么简单的解决方案;一些酒吧表示，客人们不相信不锈钢吸管能完全清洗干净。

Another option—a plastic-like edible straw made from seaweed—may be more of a competitor.

另外一种类似塑料的可食用吸管是用海藻制成的，这种吸管也许会是一个强劲的竞争对手。

Word Study

shrink /?r??k/ v.（使）缩小，收缩，减少

The market for their products is shrinking.

corner /'k??n?（r）/ v. 垄断（某种货品的交易）

Theyve cornered the market in silver.

tick all the boxes 投其所好;迎合众人/某人的喜好

This is a movie that ticks all the boxes.

edible /'ed?bl/ adj. 适宜食用的;（无毒而）可以吃的

The food at the hotel was barely edible.

elegant /'el?ɡ?nt/ adj. 简练的;简洁的;简明的