Source: Interesting Engineering
The spicy mushroom Manchurian dish from a Dhaba is the perfect starter for an excellent weekend party. Those who love spicy and crispy Manchurian will not want to miss out on this mouth-watering dish. As we couldn't resist our craving for this hot served dish, we got it on a plastic plate. Regardless of how much of a foodie we consider ourselves, we are health-conscious when it comes to eating.
Any hot food served in a plastic container is said to be carcinogenic. Consequently, it is best to avoid anything hot served in a plastic container. Imagine how hazardous dumping plastic on the land would be if just consuming hot food could be carcinogenic for anyone?
Source: South Indian food
Hazardous Plastics
Approximately 9 billion tons of plastic have been produced by humans since 1950. Fewer than 9% of this amount has been recycled, while 12% has been incinerated. 79% of plastic has been accumulated in landfills or natural environments, and even most plastics labeled "biodegradable" don't degrade in the ocean.
Expatriates are pondering over how to deal with plastic waste. No matter how intelligent humans are, they cannot surpass the natural world. Nature has even made its way through the mess of plastic waste. Nature has indeed tasked a mushroom with degrading plastic waste.
Mushrooms: An Introduction
Mushrooms are the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting bodies of fungi, typically found on soil, in sheltered places, or in response to their food source. Mushrooms are often used in cooking, in a variety of cuisines. It has been documented that many mushroom species produce harmful, mind-altering, antibiotic, and antiviral secondary metabolites.
Psychoactive mushrooms have long been a part of various native medicine traditions across the world. Dyeing natural fibers with mushrooms are also possible. Colors are produced by the chromophores of mushroom dyes, which are organic compounds and can produce colors across the spectrum.
Source: RSC Education
A Mushroom that Degrades Plastic Waste
Pestalotiopsis microspora is an endophytic fungus that can break down and digest polyurethane. Students at Yale University discovered in 2012 that a rare species of mushroom from the Amazon rainforest can survive solely on plastic.
Students, led by molecular biochemistry professor Scott Strobel, have found that two distinct strains of P. microspora within the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest showed polyurethane degradation activity. The researchers studied those strains while they participated in Yale's annual Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory.
This is the first fungus species found to survive on polyurethane in anaerobic conditions. Therefore, the fungus is a potential candidate for bioremediation projects involving large amounts of plastic.
Those who wonder if all this plastic is creating yet another monster - overgrown mushrooms instead of trash piles - nature proves once again to be a solution for this problem: some plastic-eating species can be eaten themselves.
That’s right. There are numerous species of mushrooms known to eat plastic, found in a fascinating study led by Katharina Unger of Utrecht University. Some of these mushrooms are quite common, such as the oyster mushroom.
Imagine if all Plastic was Replaced by Mushrooms?
Even though there is no plastic left behind in the finished product, accepting this plastic feeding mushroom as edible is a challenge. Research suggests that these mushrooms taste "sweet with anise or licorice aromas," so convincing the general public to eat them might be difficult. To determine the safety of this, more studies are needed. It is possible that this process could solve another problem - world hunger - if it is found to be safe.
Source: Fast Company
Advantages of Using Pestalotiopsis Microspora for Plastic Degradation
It is a naturally occurring product, so we need not manufacture it.
A lot of mushroom species seem to appear overnight, rapidly expanding or growing.
Pestalotiopsis microspora can grow in anaerobic conditions thus it can be easily grown in landfills.
Studies show that these mushrooms can break down plastics within weeks or months, thereby producing a protein-rich food that can be consumed by animals, humans, or plants.
Mycoremediation
Mycoremediation is the natural process by which fungi degrade or isolate pollutants in the environment. This is a method of bioremediation, which can occur naturally or be introduced deliberately to break down different types of environmental pollutants.
Mushrooms aren't without their limitations when it comes to breaking down plastic. Oceans, which are home to hundreds of thousands of metric tons of plastic, make releasing new organisms to new environments a tricky adventure. Here's hoping we find the best solution for getting rid of plastic.
Written By - Dr. Nayana Shree Suresh
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