Roughly 8.5 billion plastic straws are used in the U.K. each year, but as a new ban takes effect next April, that number will shrink to zero.英國每年大約使用85億根塑料吸管，但明年四月實施一項新禁令之後，使用吸管的數量就會減少至零。
One startup is hoping to corner the market for alternative straws using an unlikely material: pasta.一家初創企業希望用一款另類吸管來壟斷市場，這種吸管是用一種難以想像的材料——義大利麵製成的。
"It ticks all the boxes in terms of functionality as a plastic straw that everyone's been used to growing up," says Maxim Gelmann, founder of Stroodles, the startup.「它就像我們成長過程中習慣使用的那種塑料吸管一樣，擁有其全部功能，」Stroodles這家初創企業的總裁馬克西姆·格爾曼說道。
The straws, made by an Italian manufacturer that also produces regular pasta, are the same shape and size as a standard plastic straw.這種吸管是一家義大利生產商生產的，該廠商還生產普通的義大利麵。這種吸管的形狀和尺寸與標準塑料吸管的相同。
Unlike a paper straw, they don't taste like wet paper; they don't change the flavor of the drink. They last at least an hour, and longer in colder drinks.它們不像紙質吸管那樣，嘗起來就像潮溼的紙一樣；而且它們也不會改變飲料的味道。它們至少可以持續使用一個小時，如果用來喝冷飲的話，使用的時間會更長一些。
"Let's say you have your gin and tonic and then you refill it with ice, it goes even longer," Gelmann says.「例如，你要了一杯金酒加湯力水，然後你又加了冰塊，這種吸管就可以使用更長時間，」戈爾曼說道。
If you're 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).如果你一杯飲料喝了幾個小時，這根意面做的吸管最終會軟化，你可以選擇吃掉它（未使用的吸管也是可以食用的，而且戈爾曼表示，有人把這種吸管當零食吃了）。
A handful of other pasta-straw startups also exist, though Stroodles is hoping to differentiate itself with a smoother, more plastic-like texture and its branding.雖然Stroodles公司希望用更光滑、更像塑料的材質來使其產品和品牌具有差異化，但市面上還有其他幾家意面吸管的初創企業。
It's more expensive to make than a plastic straw, but at large volumes, it can compete with the cost of paper straws.生產意面吸管的成本比塑料吸管的要高，但大批量生產的話，其成本與紙質吸管的成本相當。
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."因為即將執行的禁令，「沒人再拿『我們』（的價格）與塑料吸管做比較了，」戈爾曼說道。「他們拿『我們』的價格與紙質吸管作比較，這使我更容易說服他們。」
Other alternatives, like bamboo or stainless steel, are more expensive and arguably a less elegant solution; some bars say that patrons don't trust the idea that stainless steel straws can be fully sanitized.其他的替代品，例如竹製吸管或不鏽鋼吸管更貴，而且可以說是一種不那麼簡單的解決方案；一些酒吧表示，客人們不相信不鏽鋼吸管能完全清洗乾淨。
Another option—a plastic-like edible straw made from seaweed—may be more of a competitor.另外一種類似塑料的可食用吸管是用海藻製成的，這種吸管也許會是一個強勁的競爭對手。
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