Wonders of Peru: Plastic Eating Fungus

Wonders of Peru: Plastic Eating Fungus

Wonders of Peru: Plastic Eating Fungus

Students from Yale University discovered a mushroom species that can eat plastic. The mushroom, called Pestalotiopsis microspore, comes from the Amazon rainforest where our #AjiCharapita is growing. Astoundingly, these mushrooms can survive on plastic alone.

The fungi consume polyurethane and convert it into organic matter. This plastic-eating mushroom can also live without oxygen – making it the perfect candidate for cleaning up landfills.

Solving two of Earth’s most urgent problems – plastic pollution and food shortages – some plastic-eating mushrooms may be edible too.

“Imagine a world where a pollution-free future
lies in the roots of a fungus.”
 
 
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