Scientists have been experimenting with mushrooms that eat plastic and other non-biodegradable trash.
"Scientists are also researching fungal enzymes and their ability to recycle trash and remediate damaged earth. In 2011, researchers published a much-discussed paper on isolates of the rare fungus Pestalotiopsis microspora, which has a hankering for polyurethane, a durable plastic that appears in roller coaster wheels, modern art, and lots of stuff in between. Numerous studies suggest that mushrooms, which naturally absorb toxins, including heavy metals, can be used intentionally to clean polluted soils."
https://www.popsci.com/mushrooms-could-save-world#page-6
Unknown to many, a lot of plastic pollution comes from the synthetic clothes that are washed in the laundry and they are called microfibers. New legislation was recently issued in California, as described in the following link.
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/2018/03/california-legislation-will-require-polyester-clothing-to-have-a-microfiber-pollution-label/
"According to the bill, synthetic clothes can shed up to 1,900 microfibers per wash and warns about the dangers of these tiny fibers when entering the ocean and eaten by sea life, as they would eventually go up the food chain. However, research from Mermaids Life+ shows that previous studies have greatly underestimated that number: an average of 9,000,000 fibers are released in every 5-kilo wash."
Mushrooms can eat those. While it may be a scary idea to think what would happen if mushrooms eventually invade the planet, the fact that they are possibly edible too will make one either squirm or smile.
"The result is called Fungi Mutarium—a striking combination of creativity, science and design. The prototype project uses mushroom-like pods of agar (a seaweed-based gelatin) as a nutrient-packed base for the fungus. The pods are filled with plastic and fungi and covered with a “growth sphere.” Over time, the fungus gobbles up the plastic along with the sugar and starches contained in the agar holder. The puffy, mushroom-like cup that results can be filled with other food or eaten whole."
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chow-down-plastic-eating-fungus-180958127/#GycK8DYBw5MzpzUR.99
Time to cook those delicious recipes. Mushrooms may become a food staple in the not so distant future.
