Around 1.4 trillion – that’s the amount of single-use plastic straws Singapore-based startup RWDC Industries is aiming to replace by 2025. Straws made from its bioplastic raw material called Solon can biodegrade in two months – a mere fraction of the 200 years that polypropylene plastic straws take to decay and be absorbed by the environment.

Producing and incinerating traditional plastic also results in the emission of greenhouse gases on a massive scale. In comparison, Solon-based products leave behind no harmful by-products after they decompose, according to RWDC.