Fungi Mutarium: Turn Plastic into Edible Mushrooms
Plastic causes one of the most common problems in regards to waste disposal for the fact that it doesn’t decompose. This may soon become a thing of the past because a new invention, the Fungi Mutarium, allows fungi to quickly feed on plastic. Once it is done, the fungi can then be eaten.
In every sense of the word this turns plastic into edible mushrooms. The machine uses the plastic and creates an environment that helps the fungi thrive and grow. Here’s how it works:
First, the plastic is UV-treated to begin decomposition and to thoroughly sterilize the material. Afterwards, the plastic is placed in small agar pods. Agar is an algae-based gelatine that is also edible. Liquefied fungi are then poured into the pod where they will then begin to grow.
After several weeks the fungi will have taken over, completely devouring the plastic. Once the fungi are all that remains it can then be extracted and prepared for humans to eat. What remains is a soft vegetative portion of the fungus known as mycelium.
Mycelium can also be used in preparation of other dishes.
One of the best things about this is that the fungi used in current tests are two of the most popular mushrooms used in restaurants – split gill mushrooms and oyster mushrooms. In other words this means that the plastic-eating fungi are in fact quite delicious.
Does this mean they are 100% toxic-free? As of the moment scientists have observed that the fungi devour the plastic without digesting in the toxic compounds, making them safe to eat. However, the research team has stated that further observations would be necessary to make sure of this.
One of the only real setbacks is that it does take time for the apparatus to work. It takes a month or two for the fungi to completely eat up the kind of thin plastic material used in shopping bags. It would take years for the fungi to effectively devour hard plastic materials.
Currently the team is working on new ways to speed up the process and thus make the technology available for mass production. The main goal is to discover the right amount of humidity and temperature to create the perfect micro-climate that would hasten the process.
Another option, albeit more controversial, is to use genetic alteration to help alter the fungi and make them more adept in eating the plastic material.
The team behind Fungi Mutarium is Livin Studio in collaboration with Utrecht University in the Netherlands. This could be paired with the recent breakthrough made by the North Dakota State University that invented a new kind of plastic that breaks down in just 3 hours.
As of the moment there is an estimated total of 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean, polluting the waters that cause diseases and also harm natural wildlife. Many animals and ocean plant life are negatively affected by the abundance of plastic pollution.
Fungi Mutarium might be a solution to reduce the amount of pollution within the next twenty years.
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