Mushroom roots can make stronger packages

Washington, March 1 (ANI): A company in the US is using mushroom roots to design packages because they are much more stronger.

According to a report in Discovery News, the company in question is Ecovative Design.

"We should make products that fit into nature's recycling system," said Ecovative Design cofounder and CEO Eben Bayer.

The company, located in Green Island, New York, uses mushroom roots called mycelia to grow packaging.

Their EcoCradle packaging borrows its "nanotech" process from filamentous fungi.

The mycelia, which are smaller than a human hair, surround and eat agricultural waste like buckwheet hulls.

After about a week or so, tons of tiny white fibers appear.

The material is then dried to halt the growing process, creating packaging with impressive durability that is also biodegradable and compostable.

Ecovative envisions a production sites across the nation that incorporate local agricultural byproducts to cut down on trucking materials.

Unlike starch packing peanuts, Ecovative's material can be molded into custom shapes.

Unlike some bioplastics, the material doesn't require food crops.

Bayer said that the EcoCradle price is competitive with styrofoam because the denser the foam, the more oil required, making it more expensive to produce.

EcoCradle built a factory in upstate New York and currently has plans with two Fortune 500 companies to make their packaging this spring. (ANI)