Business

SA business Mister Rye makes eco-friendly straws from farmers’ leftover grain

Mister Rye is an South Australian startup that uses SA farmers’ leftover grain stalks from the cereal rye harvest to produce the nation’s first Australia-made drinking straws.

Photos: Mister Rye.

The first-ever Australia-made drinking straw business has launched, and the products are all rye-cyclable!

Mister Rye is a South Australian startup that uses SA farmers’ leftover grain stalks from the cereal rye harvest to produce the nation’s first Australia-made drinking straws. Releasing their first products in 2020, Mister Rye only uses remaining byproduct from SA’s organic certified farmers to ensure each straw is safe for drinking.

The sustainable straws are not only SA-made, they are also compostable and biodegradable, super strong, gluten-free, tasteless, reusable at home, and resistant to the dampness that often overtakes non-plastic straws, according to co-owner Marion Vigot. The business owner hopes the straws will aid in the fight to reduce single-use plastic. 

“Straws came to mind when thinking of a way to reduce plastic waste because they’re always one of the top 10 items picked up from a beach clean up, for example,” she tells us.

Vigot works with local farmers to produce the straws, a sustainable idea she thought of to maximise the potential of their byproduct.

“We wanted to add value to an already existing resource that wasn’t being used to its fullest potential.. We select, sort, cut, clean, sterilise and package them to replace plastic and soggy paper straws,” she says.

Vigot, who also owns sister company Compostable Alternatives, says the nature of the handmade straws’ sustainability goes beyond their creation, continuing to benefit the earth even after their disposal. 

“They are grown on certified organic farmland and follow a circular economy where they become natural fertiliser after being used and reused, to help the soil’s regeneration.”

Going forward, the company is looking to find a solution to the “seasonality” of their product because right now, the output is dependent on how much rainfall the crops get. As they also make each straw by hand, a process Vigot describes as “crazy” and “taking a lot of time,” they are also looking to automise the production process.

A box of straws, which contains 30, is $12.31, and has a flat shipping fee of $9.15 applies for up to 5 boxes.

Find them online here.

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