The life of disposable plastic straws is less than 4 months.

In January this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Treatment of Plastic Pollution", clarifying that by the end of this year, non-degradable disposable plastic straws will be prohibited in the catering industry nationwide. The "plastic ban" is approaching, and some people see opportunities to make a fortune: Paper straws and straws made of biodegradable material polylactic acid are one of the few alternatives to plastic straws on the market, and there will be huge market demand.

In the Yiwu small commodity market in Zhejiang Province, straws are a traditional strength. In Yiwu, there are many companies engaged in straw related operations, including Yiwu Shuangtong Commodity Co., Ltd., the largest straw manufacturer in the country. "Plastic ban" superimposed on the impact of the epidemic, the bosses of the Yiwu straw industry may not have a good life in the first half of this year. However, things have started to change recently.

After a few months of bleak business after the beginning of the year, Wang Yan finally received a lot of new orders last month. Her company specializes in the production and management of party supplies, and paper straws are the most important of them. Wang Yan said that straws are not like other products, and there is no obvious difference between low and peak seasons, but based on experience, summer orders tend to be slightly larger. However, despite the stagnation of overseas orders, the growth in August this year was still significantly higher than in previous years.

"The main reason is that there are more domestic orders. After the ban on plastics is issued in January, the market will definitely need a reaction time, and now it should be time." Wang Yan said frankly, although he received a wave of orders, but after a full "ban on plastics" Exactly what the future prospect of the straw is is still unclear, but she intuitively believes that "there should be a wave of market."

Zhou Xiaoling has also received a lot of orders in the past few months, and the customers who come to make inquiries are endless, including some well-known chain milk tea brands in China. The business of paper straws has been in business for many years, and Zhou Xiaoling is not very optimistic about the so-called "market": "Paper straws have actually been fired once in the past two years. Many people who entered the game at that time have not recovered."

In 2018, Europe issued a "plastic ban". According to the proposal, by 2021 the EU will ban the use of alternative disposable plastic products, which naturally include plastic straws. The merchants in Yiwu, Zhejiang responded quickly, and the paper straws with simple production technology quickly became sweet and sour pork. Zhou Xiaoling recalled that at that time, many businessmen who had never made straws before bought equipment at a high price and began to produce paper straws. This situation is somewhat similar to the trend of meltblown masks a few months ago.

Not only is the process similar, but the ending is the same. At that time, a large number of inferior paper straws flooded the market, and there was a price war among peers, which ultimately left nothing but feathers. Today, there are still people in Yiwu who cut prices to sell the paper straw production equipment that year, and the sequelae persists to this day. Zhou Xiaoling said: "At that time, each paper straw had a profit of about 1 cent, but now there are only a few percent left. That is the profit. , What's the stir?"

In addition to paper straws, polylactic acid straws are also a great alternative to plastic straws. Compared with paper straws, the straws are closer to plastic straws in texture and appearance. Zhao Liyang, who also does a straw business in Yiwu, focuses on overseas markets. The domestic "ban on plastics" has no significant impact on her business, but it does not affect her observation of the industry. She believes that the production process of polylactic acid straws is highly similar to that of traditional plastic straws, and the transformation of production enterprises is relatively easy. Polylactic acid straws may become mainstream in the future.

This transformation is not completely without thresholds. Zhao Liyang said that the raw material cost of polylactic acid is high and the output is small. In recent years, the price has been rising. At the same time, although the production process is similar and the production equipment is the same, the conversion still involves many technical problems. "The ban on plastics will have a greater impact on small factories. For the industry, it will inevitably experience a new round of big waves." Zhao Liyang believes that polylactic acid straws cannot become the target of hype.

Whether it is a paper straw or a polylactic acid straw, it seems that even if there is a "market" in the straw industry, it is unlikely to be "fried up" by craziness. For businessmen, blind speculation is not advisable after all. If you don’t believe it, you can look at the meltblown cloth a few months ago and the paper straws a few years ago; for ordinary consumers, you can rest assured that the "ban on plastics" will not affect everyone. Drink milk tea happily.