How to Make Bamboo Straws

Week 6

Bamboo is a common replacement for single-use plastic and with good reason. It takes little maintenance, grows quickly and at end of life, and it's 100% biodegradable. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to turn one bamboo stalk into a few reusable straws.

What you'll need

  • Bamboo
  • Hand saw or strong clippers
  • Coarse sandpaper
  • Straw or pipe cleaner
  • Pot or skillet big enough to fit your straws
  • Salt
  1. green bamboo stick

    Grab a stick of bamboo. I found this one in my backyard.

  2. hand saw cutting bamboo

    Using a hand saw or strong clippers, cut the bamboo on either side of the knot.

  3. hand saw cutting bamboo

    Now, cut the bamboo again at your desired length, but before the next knot. The piece you're using to make a straw should not have any knots.

  4. hand hold three cut bamboo pieces

    Cut as many as you like so you can make a few straws at one time.

  5. hand sanding cut bamboo piece

    With course sandpaper or a sanding block, sand the pieces until there is no more peeling back. I took as much of the dark green off as I could.

  6. hand sanding the edges of the bamboo pieces

    Sand the edges until nice and smooth. I found it easiest to put the sandpaper on the table and then rub the edges on it.

  7. clost of of sanded bamboo piece that shows hollow center

    Once it is completely smooth, you'll clear out the center. You'll notice that bamboo is naturally hollow, but you want to get any extra bits out. Mine had a sort of paper inside that I was able to pull out easily.

  8. hand using a straw cleaner to clean out the inside of bamboo piece

    Use a straw cleaner or pipe cleaner to really clean out the inside of your bamboo.

  9. bamboo pieces in a pot of boiling water

    To detoxify your bamboo, soak it in a pot of boiling salt water for at least 10 minutes.

  10. hand holding three bamboo pieces under running water

    Rinse the bamboo and give the inside another cleaning.

  11. three wet bamboo pieces on a towel

    Leave your straws to dry. Once dry, they are ready to use! If taken care of, your straw should last about a year and at the end of it's life, you can compost it or throw it in the back yard to eventually biodegrade.

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