Imagine if all the world’s plastic-based products could be replaced by biodegradable materials produced by a living organism. Even better, imagine if this organism could also consume all of our plastic waste that is destroying our environment and oceans. Well, the dream is real, and the secret is Fungi! In a previous post, I discussed why mushrooms are considered vegan, and how to use mushrooms as a meat alternative to reduce our environmental footprint. In this post, we answer the question: Can mushrooms replace plastic? and more importantly, is it scalable in order to meet the global demand for plastics.
In this post:
- Plastic packing materials
- Can mushrooms replace plastic packaging?
- Animal and plastic based leather
- Can mushrooms replace plastic and animal leathers?
- Using mushroom to decompose plastic waste
Plastic packing materials: Destroying our environment with little ROI
Online shopping has massively increased, especially since the pandemic. In fact, IBM predicts all shopping will be digital in 5 years. Many products require some form of protection during shipping. The majority of these shipping materials are comprised of polystyrene plastic. There is bubble wrap, Styrofoam, packing foam, packing peanuts, the list goes on. These plastic materials go straight to the garbage once the customer’s shipment is received. If you think about it, the ratio of environmental destruction to use efficiency is incredibly high. We get very little use or need out plastic shipping products, for the amount of harm they cause.
According to this study, 6 kg of CO2 is emitted for every 1 kg of plastic manufactured. You can imagine the emissions that result globally, and packing materials is only one part of the plastic problem. Not only that, how much of this ends up in the ocean? According to Clean Water Action, Plastic (polystyrene) is responsible for 90% of all marine debris. Polystyrene foam also often resembles food floating on the water, and leads to a belly full of plastic and death for most marine animals. How do we solve this problem? Is there a more biodegradable replacement?
Can mushrooms replace plastic packing materials?
A new startup in New Zealand sought to answer the question: “Can mushrooms replace plastic? Their answer was yes! Mushroom Material is reducing plastic packing waste by transforming mushrooms into shipping/packing materials. It is really an ingenious idea, but common sense if you think about it. Mushrooms have such a light, fluffy, and almost foam-like texture. They are perfect to provide insulation and protection for shipping products. Since mushrooms are not plants they can grow the majority of the time in the dark and require way less water and inputs. They are also decomposers and feed off of the dead plant and agricultural waste products, which often are a source of carbon emissions if left to decompose anaerobically.
Mushroom materials use the vegetative part (rather than the fruiting body), of mushrooms. This vegetative mycelium grows off of plant-based waste within custom moulds that are created for each unique product. Once the mushroom packing material has fulfilled its purpose, it can be broken up and left to degrade in the garden.
Animal leather and “Pleather”
There is a dual problem that we are now facing with products like purses, shoes, belts, etc. One on end, these often leather-based commodities are being produced from the skins of animals, while vegan alternatives are made from plastic. The animal-leather industry causes some of the most prolific suffering ever known to animals. The leather industry is not only cruel but incredibly polluting and wasteful in terms of final product output. In fact, to make 200 kg of finished leather, 1000 kg of raw animal skin is required. In the process, 250 kg of non-tanned waste, and 200kg of tanned waste are produced. Within the tanned waste, lies the incredibly carcinogenic compound chromium, which has been a major cause of cancer for workers within the leather industry.
As consumers, we need to make it a moral obligation to stop purchasing animal leather. Other companies are creating other synthetic materials as alternates. Enter “pleather”, a plastic-based animal leather alternative that seems to solve the problem of animal suffering. But what about pollution in the manufacturing of plastic from petroleum? Some companies are rather using recycled plastic waste to make pleather, but inevitably these products if not recycled themselves will end up in the landfill. So how do we solve the problem for consumers that seem to need products made out of materials like leather? If we can replace plastic packing materials, then can mushrooms replace plastic-based leather?
(@mylo_unleather)Can mushrooms replace plastic-Based and animal leather?
So not only can we eat mushrooms, and use them as packing materials, we can also create skin-like materials to replace leather. Genius! One company that is paving the way for this product is Mylo-Unleather. The scientists at Mylo grow the mycelium on a bed of sawdust (and other plant materials), indoors in vertical mushroom farms. Once harvested, the mycelium is tanned and dyed like normal leather, except, no chromium or DMFa is used. Their tannin process is designed for the safety of human health and the environment. Not only is their product amazing, but I also recommend checking out their incredible website too!
There are plant-based leather alternatives to check out as well. Some plant-based leather companies include Pinatex which uses pineapples and Desserto that uses cactuses! Can you eat them too? Probably not, but sporting a plant-based leather bag at your next social outing is definitely the best statement you could possibly make.
Using mushrooms to decompose plastic waste
Not only can mushrooms replace plastic, but they can also consume/degrade it! Livin studio and Utrecht University found a way to add a special type of fungi to a mixture of agar and UV-treated plastic waste. As the mycelium grows, the plastic is consumed, never to be seen again. Interestingly, the mushroom can even be consumed by humans after the process. Imagine if we could use mushrooms to consume all our plastic waste, and produce food out of it as a result? Here’s looking toward a sustainable mushroom-filled future!
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