A US-based biotech firm has developed a plastic-eating fungi, offering an eco-friendly solution to tackle the global nappy waste crisis
Plastic-munching fungi could prove a powerful new ally in tackling one of parenting’s muckiest problems: disposable nappies.
Some 250m single-use nappies worldwide are tossed away every day, according to UN figures.
They can take centuries to break down, while leaching microplastics and chemicals into the ground.
Now US-based biotech firm HIRO Technologies is hoping to wipe out the waste with a nappy that is gentle on both babies and the planet, by using fungi to turn soft plastics into soil.
“It’s literally in mushrooms’ DNA to break down complex carbon materials,” explains HIRO’s Finnish co-founder Tero Isokauppila. “They already break down lignin [a natural glue-like substance found in the cell walls of plants], which has a similar carbon backbone to plastics. We’ve simply re-trained them to do what they already kind of knew how to do.”
Plastic-eating fungi have been around for over a decade, but HIRO’s shelf-stable version brings them out of the lab for the first time.
Every HIRO MycoDigestible diaper comes with a sachet of fungi, which is thrown away with the used nappy. It gets to work in the presence of moisture, secreting enzymes that sever plastic’s complex carbon bonds and, in time, transform the waste into mycelium and nutrient-rich soil.
It’s literally in mushrooms’ DNA to break down complex carbon materials. We’ve simply re-trained them to do what they already kind of knew how to do
Isokauppila now wants to expand the bottom-up approach: his long-term vision is to create ecosystems that use fungi to break down other plastic waste at scale.
“In the absence of effective recycling, we’ve built a circular, scalable alternative,” he said. “We believe the end of plastic begins with mushrooms.”
Main image: HIRO Technologies
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