2019 Edition

Over the last few decades, the alarming rate at which the bee population has diminished has been widely reported. Without bees, one of every three portions of food that we eat could disappear because of the lack of polinization. However, another problem exists that could help save the bees from extinction: straw pollution. Each plastic straw takes up to 200 years to biodegrade, causing irreparable damage to our ecosystems. Two threats to our survival that have a shared solution. Last Straw Beehives built with reused straws in order to boost bee population. We realized that the diameter of the most commonly used straw is the same size as honeycomb cells, home and breeding ground of the most important bee species for pollination: the apis mellifera. So, with the counseling of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México’s Veterinary and Zoology Faculty, we designed a beehive with honeycombs made from reused straws. FUNCTIONAL DESIGN The traditional Langstroth Jumbo beehives, created to produce honey, are also ideal to increase the number of bee colonies, which is why we based our design on this functional hive model. ESTHETIC DESIGN Our design is inspired by functionality. A beautiful design was added to the base and cover, without affecting its functionality. Its design aims to inspire people to own one of these beehives. The Straws as Honeycombs. Straws are made with polyethylene plastic, the same material used for manufacturing artificial hives, which means it’s a material very well accepted by bees. The length of the straws helps bees work less, so they only have to populate it. Extra build materials. Medium density fiberboard and vegetal compacted cardboard. 200 reused straws = 3 thousand bees. Manufacturing cost: 470 euros Scalability Last Straw blueprints will be available as “open source”, so it can be reapplied anywhere in the world.