Photo credit: FabCafe

A fungal future

• Can mushrooms save the world? This 500-backed biotech company certainly believes so. Mycotech Lab’s (MYCL) creations are durable, biodegradable alternatives to conventional materials and have a wide range of applications, from fashion and construction to disaster relief.
• Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer Ronaldiaz Hartantyo shared that one of the greatest benefits of using mushroom as a material is that it is organic and fully bio-based, leveraging its potential for significant sustainability, social, and economic impact.
• Only 2-5% of Indonesia’s agricultural waste is decomposed or reprocessed, leaving up to 98% to be disposed by dumping or burning, which produces more carbon.
• Currently, the team offers 3 products with different purposes: MYCL Composite, which can be shaped into any desired form; BIOBO, a multifunctional board that meets modern architectural and design standards; Mylea, a leather-like material.
• “Our Mylea leather, if shaped into large sheets for use in clothing, won’t biodegrade and is very resilient!” Ronaldiaz explains. “But when it reaches the end of its life cycle, we can cut it up into small pieces and it will degrade naturally, making it compostable at home.”
• Even the process of growing mushrooms is sustainable. Mushrooms take up less space with vertical farming, don’t need to be fed, and do not require soil.
• “What we’re really excited about is the use of our products in temporary construction. Because our material is both durable and biodegradable, we can for example construct pavilions for exhibitions, and by the end of the event we can collaborate with local farmers to utilize the construction material as compost, creating a sustainable closed loop,” he added.
• Read the full story here.