Mushroom-foam is as cheap as Styrofoam, requires no fossil fuel, and creates no plastic pollution, biodegrading in your garden in just a couple of weeks Ikea is switching to a new mushroom-based, biodegradable alternative to polystyrene (Styrofoam) packaging for its furniture and home decor. Known as Mycofoam, the product is made of agricultural waste products like corn or hemp husks, oat hulls or cotton burrs and mushroom spores. The agricultural waste is molded into the desired shape and then seeded with mushroom spores, which begin to sprout mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi that forms a web of hairlike roots that typically hold soil together, but in this case hold the packaging together. The mycelium threads spread rapidly throughout the material, digesting and binding it into a durable, shock-resistant foam. When the foam reaches a desirable consistency, it is heated and dried to stop mycelium growth, so it can be used to cushion and protect everything from glass and ceramics to electronics and furniture. Once the packaging has served its purpose it can be “tossed in a lake to feed fish” or into your compost pile to fertilize your garden, says the video below. In these moist environments, Mycofoam […]
Latest Articles
Scientists Discover How to Stop Banana Peels from Browning
Takeaways: Researchers are looking to understand and prevent banana peels from browning to reduce the amount of the food waste.
They say that browning...
Lawyers File on Behalf of Elephant to Make Her a Legal Person
Takeaways: Happy is an elephant based in New York who has been living at the Bronx Zoo for over 40 years.
Activists have filed...
Jet Fuel from Paper Industry Waste Could Make Airplanes Cleaner
Takeaways: Researchers are using lignin to make a jet fuel that has lower emissions than petroleum based fuels.
The paper produces millions of tons...
Californian Cow Burps Have Been Detected by Satellites. Here’s Why that Matters
Takeaways: Satellites have detected methane emissions from cow's burps from a feedlot in California.
The ability to measure and pinpoint methane emissions is a...
Bamboo Diapers are Better for your Wallet and the Planet
Takeaways: DYPER bamboo diapers have no latex, alcohol, chlorine, lotion, phthalates or TBT.
These diapers are made out of fibers from responsibly-sourced bamboo.
“We...
10 Ways Sustainability and Your Health Go Hand-in-Hand
Takeaways: Some ways sustainability and health are interconnected include how we manage the food we eat and how it impacts climate change.
The way...