I will concur I regret the loss of a good product. I've only seen it once but was impressed with the stuff.
But I have to clear up the "stuff we ordinarily discard" comment. A lot of folk consider straws a waste product of the farming industry. It is actually a very important component of soil development, fertiliity and production of food for our kids. It does have a lot of valuable fibre that man can use, given profitable product development, though. It is just a good resource that needs management, not garbage.
Sorry for the soap box. Occupational hazard. ..Doug