Apart from the great abilities of fungi to remove pollutants from soil and enable the conversion of waste into biofuels, there’s yet another good reason to love the mushroom – it can break down plastic. In 2012, scientists at Yale University discovered that a mushroom strain by the name of Pestalotiopsis microspora is able to consume polyurethane, the key ingredient in plastic products, and convert it into organic matter. More recently though, researchers have found that there are actually several species of mushrooms that will eat plastic, and some of them are common, such as the oyster mushroom, which is also edible. In controlled conditions, it takes just a few weeks for the mycelium to start breaking down plastic, and in a few months’ time, the plastic is completely broken down, with just a white puffy mushroom left behind. Even if not eaten or used for anything else, the mushroom could be composted and turned into soil at a much faster rate than that of plastic, which is estimated to take centuries to decompose on its own. Considering the growing threat posed by plastic pollution on the environment, the discovery shows that turning to nature for help is by no means a bad idea.
Mushrooms can break down plastic in weeks and turn it into organic material
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