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 brentford101
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Registered: 12/16/07
Posts: 23
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 Plastic Eating Fungi May Solve World Waste Problem 
#16238801 - 05/16/12 09:09 AM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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http://mashable.com/2012/03/07/plastic-eating-fungi/
A group of students and professors from Yale University have found a fungi in the Amazon rainforest that can degrade and utilize the common plastic polyurethane (PUR). As part of the university’s Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory educational program, designed to engage undergraduate students in discovery-based research, the group searched for plants and cultured the micro-organisms within their tissue.
Several active organisms were identified, including two distinct isolates of Pestalotiopsis microspora with the ability to efficiently degrade and utilize PUR as the sole carbon source when grown anaerobically, a unique observation among reported PUR biodegradation activities.
Polyurethane is a big part of our mounting waste problem and this is a new possible solution for managing it. The fungi can survive on polyurethane alone and is uniquely able to do so in an oxygen-free environment. The Yale University team has published their findings in the article ‘Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Endophytic Fungi’ for the Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal.
Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Endophytic Fungi
via PSFK: http://www.psfk.com/2012/03/plastic-eating-fungi.html#ixzz1v2QvdYPQ
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BlackPeace
Québec Edible Mushrooms
Registered: 11/18/07
Posts: 958
Loc: Canada 
Last seen: 1 day, 15 hours
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Re: Plastic Eating Fungi May Solve World Waste Problem [Re: brentford101]
#16238955 - 05/16/12 10:08 AM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Thanks for sharing!
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 Celestial Traveler
Random Observer
Registered: 03/04/11
Posts: 6,699
Loc: Idaho
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Re: Plastic Eating Fungi May Solve World Waste Problem [Re: BlackPeace]
#16239183 - 05/16/12 11:18 AM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Fuckin awesome! 
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Mushie23
Strictly Entheogens
Registered: 11/19/10
Posts: 613
Loc: Northwest Washington Stat...
Last seen: 2 days, 23 hours
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Just like Paul Stamets has stated, Mushrooms/Fungi can save the world!
Great thread...I just wonder how long it will take for this to catch on and reduce all the platic waste out there.
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Eat Mushrooms----plug into life and nature.
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JonnyS
Master of Reality
Registered: 09/25/09
Posts: 536
Loc: Desolation Row
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Re: Plastic Eating Fungi May Solve World Waste Problem [Re: Mushie23]
#16239936 - 05/16/12 02:19 PM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Humans produce a lot more waste than can be degraded by fungi.
Maybe if we can cultivate them in mass amounts we can replace landfills with mushroom farms!
That'd be sweet.
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Yesterday, just a dream I don't remember...
Tommorow, still a hope I've yet to endulge...
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Mushie23
Strictly Entheogens
Registered: 11/19/10
Posts: 613
Loc: Northwest Washington Stat...
Last seen: 2 days, 23 hours
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Re: Plastic Eating Fungi May Solve World Waste Problem [Re: JonnyS]
#16241945 - 05/16/12 09:13 PM (1 year, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
JonnyS said:
Humans produce a lot more waste than can be degraded by fungi.
Maybe if we can cultivate them in mass amounts we can replace landfills with mushroom farms!
That'd be sweet.
^^^ I agree. Plastic eating Fungi, in combination with how the common person lives, would be ideal. But the fungi alone may not be able to keep up:(
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Eat Mushrooms----plug into life and nature.
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