This company is using mushrooms to reduce plastic waste

pgmrdlm writes: New York-based biotech startup Ecovative aims to cut down on this waste with mycelium, the root-like structure of a mushroom. Although we're used to seeing mushrooms growing above the ground, mycelium is what grows below it.

The company says it has developed a way to grow mycelium into specific shapes and sizes. The method, according to Ecovative, involves taking organic plant waste and inoculating it with mycelium. After the mycelium grows through and around the agricultural materials, it binds them together, providing a natural alternative to packaging materials made out styrofoam. It's a process that takes about a week with minimal water and electricity consumed to make the parts.

This startup is saving crops by making super bees
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At the end of the mycelium substance's useful life, you can break it up and you can put it in your own garden. "So it's a nutrient, not a pollutant," he added.