Green Ideas: Eco Plastic From Mushrooms

Synthetic plastics are everywhere in our lives and the stuff is toxic to the environment and the health of both humans and non-humans.

Styrofoams in particular are some of the most implacable disposable plastics , surviving for thousands of years as tiny particles, clogging the planet’s arteries.

New options are being pursued by innovators working to create alternatives that are planet-friendly and fit in with the Earth’s own, natural recycling system.

Product designer Eben Bayer gave a TED talk bout a new, fungus-based packaging material that can be used to protect stuff like furniture, plasma screens and anything else that needs cushioning.

He calls his product MycoBond, which is based om mycelium, a living, growing organism. MycoBond is basically an organic adhesive that turns agriwaste into a foam-like material for packaging and insulation.

The beauty of it is that MycoBond can use local byproducts such as cotton burrs or buckwheat hulls, and can be adapted to what’s available in different regions.

Listen directly from the brains behind this innovation to get a better grasp of what this promising product is about.

I’m sold.

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.