GOOD NEWS! Polystyrene foam might soon have an eco-friendly replacement!
Polystyrene foam takes hundreds of years to degrade. Furthermore, it will break down into thousands of small balls very harmful for the marine ecosystem.
For years, Ecovative has been working on ways to replace plastic, in particular polystyrene in the packaging industry. They developed a process using fungi's mycelium to create a polystyrene-like materials. Mycelium are the thread-like branches that make up the vegetative part of the fungi.
The mycelium grow around sanitized corn stalks or husks from local agricultural waste. After a couple of days of growth, the mycelium create an interwoven solid structure that fills any void it's placed in, meaning it can be molded to more or less any shape. The end of the process involves dehydrating the fungi to prevent it from growing further and sprouting mushrooms.
Ecovative is now working with big groups such as 3M, Ike and Dell and proposes a DIY "Grow it yourself" program to encourage open innovation.
Hopefully, fungi can help us make one step in the direction of a world free of toxic and unsustainable wastes.
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Good news thank you. I saw something like this from the students at Brunel in their Design Showcase in June. Brilliant idea and anything at all that saves the environment should be applauded
Thanks for your support! They still have a long way to go before getting mainstream but they are growing fast, the company and the fungi both ^^
That's even better news thank you
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