It could also be prevented by coating it in a wax, like Carnauba wax, which will hold stable at up to 80°C and is chemically friendly to water, so McDonalds and friends would only have to lower the temperature of their coffee a bit.

20 yrs from now, I can see an greenwashing-ad of artisan/craft macaroni where ecological considerates up-cycle used macaroni-straws exactly this way. They will have counter-cultural names (unless labeling upcycled garbage for what it is becomes counter cultural). There will be media enchantment all the way (until bankruptcy), everybody yearns for a solution to the threat that too much noodles in the ocean pose to fish.