Loliware's sustainability adviser, Daniela Saltzman, said their straw "looks, feels, and acts like plastic," while Briganti said it has a "neutral" taste that's not salty like traditional seaweed.

Focusing on the long-lived detritus that typically accompanies take-out meals, the students baked and 3D-printed straws made of sugar and agar—a gelatinous substance derived from seaweed.

Loliware is one of the better-known makers of seaweed straws and they are soon partnering with Marriott. “In the Caribbean there is a major problem with sargassum seaweed washing ashore.