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But why? What is the engineering challenge in a cheap tube that needs to survive modest collapsing pressure and contact with cold water for an hour?

Maybe wax-coated paper, or a thin foil coating on paper, or some other kind of plant matter pounded into the right shape, or something.

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There is no challenge, we've invented plastic straws. The challenge is to use something that the people who are worked up about straws do not identify as plastic.

Wax is a hydrocarbon that I believe comes from oil. I don't know how it breaks down on the environment but it's not immediately clear it's actually "better" than plastic, other than maybe not being seen once it falls apart.

the waxes we should be using are the ones from plants and animals, and they degrade like any other organic compounds. paraffin wax is the petroleum derived ones - and yeah - we should try to ban those.

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