this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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Fungi: mycelia, mushrooms & more

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Waste-eating mushrooms digest plastic & become ingredient to make chocolate protein bars (www.designboom.com)
submitted 1 month ago by solo@slrpnk.net to c/fungus@slrpnk.net
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the Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) digests PET plastic, often found in bottles and packaging; the Turkey Tail Mushroom (Trametes versicolor) eats LDPE plastic, commonly used in grocery bags; and the Split Gill Mushroom (Schizophyllum commune) dissolves PUR plastic, used in foams and coatings. These fungi convert plastic molecules into simple carbon-based compounds. After decomposition, they leave no toxic waste behind, and the result is clean, organic matter suitable for cultivation and food production.

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[–] NaibofTabr 15 points 1 month ago (10 children)

Processing PET is a big deal, it's the primary polymer for a lot of plastic bottles, bags, wraps, and clamshell packages. Being able to biodegrade those things would make a real dent in plastic waste.

But... PET is also used in things like electrical wiring insulation. Assuming this can eventually be scaled up to industrial waste processing, what prevents it from spreading out into the world and destroying infrastructure?

[–] solo@slrpnk.net 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

what prevents it from spreading out into the world and destroying infrastructure?

To my understanding, this is a case by case senario. For example in some cases the fungus just dies after eating all the specific material/pollution/radiation etc. In cases were there is a possibility of the fungus spreading, then the material is first collected in a controlled area, and then the fungus is introduced there.

[–] NaibofTabr 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I hope this is the case, because fungi always have the possibility of spreading. We're basically talking about mold. The spores are going to travel unless strong measures are taken to prevent that, especially if this is scaled for industrial use outside of lab environments. Waste processing facilities aren't exactly sterile environments.

[–] solo@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 month ago

We’re basically talking about mold.

Not really. Mold is part of the fungi kingdom, but all fungi do not have the caracteristcs of mold.

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