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Wheat straws – a small, yet important step on the road to circular economy

The ZIP Institute is combining environmental action with practical circular-economy solutions. While the organisation is also active in encouraging citizens to engage in political decision-making, one of its most tangible current initiatives focuses on turning agricultural waste into a sustainable everyday product.

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© People in Need

 

With EU support, ZIP is producing 100% biodegradable drinking straws from leftover wheat stalks. The raw material is sourced from a local partner and then disinfected and baked in a specialised oven to harden the straws — all without chemical additives. By transforming wheat waste into a useful product, the initiative offers an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional plastic straws while making use of material that would otherwise go unused.

Founded in 2012, ZIP works on democracy, rural development, energy poverty, and environmental protection. Alongside these broader efforts, the wheat-straw initiative reflects the organisation’s practical approach to tackling pollution and waste through local, scalable solutions. ZIP expects to scale up production to 2 to 3 million straws per month once the facility is fully operational. “Thanks to the EU-funded project’s support, which funded the oven, the manufacturing process can launch at full scale. By producing locally, we aim to lower production costs and offer restaurants an environmentally friendly alternative at an accessible and fair price,” says Ivana Simjanoska from the ZIP Institute.

The initiative is supported through the project “Civil Society and Youth for Inclusive and Sustainable Development through Circular Economy in North Macedonia”, implemented by People in Need in cooperation with ARNO, LEAD, and Ekovita. The wider goal is to support North Macedonia’s transition from a linear economy to a circular one — reducing waste, treating waste as a resource, and promoting recycling, upcycling, and reuse.