Julian Hadley, an ecologist at Ecovative Design, came to Log Lunch on October 10 to discuss the possibilities of replacing traditional Styrofoam packaging with fungi alternatives. Hadley is a plant and forest ecologist based in eastern New York. With a background of researching spruce decline and ecosystem-level processes in the Northeast, Hadley joined Ecovative in 2011 as a scientist. His work focuses on testing the nutritional, thermal, and mechanical properties of the products by subject this fungi-material to different conditions.
Hadley’s talk was an interesting insight into the possibilities for a plastic-free packaging world. Founded by two recent college graduates and spurred by a 500,000 Euro grant, Ecovative Design produces an innovative packaging material made from fungi. Just as a forest recycles all of its waste, this product represents a cyclical reuse of Earth’s resources. The company uses the fine thread-like filaments of fungi, known as hyphae, to bind fibrous agricultural byproducts such as the leaves of corn and hemp plants into durable packaging materials. The final product can take a variety of forms. Hadley brought a selection for the audience to observe, and these included both wood-like squares and larger Styrofoam-esque molds.
Consumers can use the basic fungi substance for a variety of uses including insulation, packaging, automobile parts, buoy-components, and surf-board hulls. Interested consumers can even order the material and mold it into a chosen design; Hadley noted that one transformed it into a lampshade! While the fungi-substance cannot be used yet as a replacement for disposable Styrofoam cups due to mold-growth when wet, simply replacing the mounds of Styrofoam packaging would divert much waste from landfills. With companies such as Dell already purchasing the mushroom-based product, Ecovative Design’s product could become an industry-standard holding together all of the goods that are transported to consumers every day.
To learn more about the product, please visit the following site: http://www.ecovativedesign.com/mushroom-materials/.
By Sara Clark ’15
Megamenu Social