Savage Gardener Posted August 21, 2012 (edited) I was wondering if anyone had heard much on this....I heard about it earlier this year and kind of put it on the shelf to research when I had time to do so...Have just done a quick Google search and there seems to be plenty of stories on it so time to get reading...Try Googling "fungus that eats polyurethane"I'd be interested to see what some of the more informed members of the Corroboree have to say on the topic.Peace and enjoy! Edited February 3, 2014 by Savage Gardener Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BentoSpawn Posted August 21, 2012 Could be pretty important in dealing with our massive amounts of waste ! I sure as hell wouldnt eat fungus growing off polyurethane though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigred Posted August 21, 2012 you would have better luck googleing Pestalotiopsis microspora 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigred Posted August 24, 2012 if you can get a culture i would love a slide Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted August 24, 2012 yeah fuck yeah. so it's real? should we start favouring polyurethane over other, as yet indestructible plastics? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
omsource Posted August 25, 2012 pretty interesting stuff! Susan Frienkel author of "plastic a toxic love story" made a pretty good comment on whether we actually want to break down our plastics or if we should be focusing on keeping the base polymers in circulation... don't know enough either way but an interesting debate! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigred Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) well maybe in a perfect world we could have done it from the start and keep tabs on it but there is so much plastic in land fill if you could inoculate it some how would be awesome help break down existing deposits or you could spawn the garbage and help it to get going would love to understand how the hyphae interacts with the media or dose it break it down regardless its only early days but there is big money in garbage Edited August 25, 2012 by bigred82 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted August 25, 2012 pretty interesting stuff! Susan Frienkel author of "plastic a toxic love story" made a pretty good comment on whether we actually want to break down our plastics or if we should be focusing on keeping the base polymers in circulation... don't know enough either way but an interesting debate! i assume she is talking about chunks of plastic being weathered and becoming smaller chunks of plastic? i assumed the mushroom turns the plastic back into natural molecules via some sweet enzymes. could she mean that turning plastic into something else produces deadly byproducts eg dioxyns? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Distracted Posted August 25, 2012 i assume she is talking about chunks of plastic being weathered and becoming smaller chunks of plastic? i assumed the mushroom turns the plastic back into natural molecules via some sweet enzymes. could she mean that turning plastic into something else produces deadly byproducts eg dioxyns? I took it to mean we have to dig oil out of the ground to make plastic, we should be preserving it incase we run out. I could be wrong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigred Posted August 25, 2012 simply amazing the world of mycology is awesome we are in the early days of bio synthesis imagine all that gold in dem hills (landfill) and being able to inoculate the land fill extract the mycelium and use it for a beneficial purpose. and use the compost to fuel a yeast like brew get every last bit and use it some how you could make a clean fuel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
omsource Posted August 26, 2012 well maybe in a perfect world we could have done it from the start and keep tabs on it but there is so much plastic in land fill if you could inoculate it some how would be awesome help break down existing deposits or you could spawn the garbage and help it to get going would love to understand how the hyphae interacts with the media or dose it break it down regardless its only early days but there is big money in garbage I assume it would have to be done in a much more controlled manner, maybe even prepping the plastic in some way wouldn't think it would have much effect just spawning a tip site, but that's just a guess I took it to mean we have to dig oil out of the ground to make plastic, we should be preserving it incase we run out. I could be wrong yup that's what she was saying. Problem is most of our higher quality plastics (ie polypropylene) get down cycled. her proposition was a better recycling process keeping the higher grade plastics in circulation rather than breaking them down and loosing that resource Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
omsource Posted August 26, 2012 there is big money in garbage agreed! check out the effective micro-organism ad campaign (bokashi buckets) Their whole marketing strategy is eliminating organic matter from the waste stream, big sweeping shots of rubbish dumps and stats on what happens to organic matter in tips, methane off-gassing etc. They never mention that we can just break it down the old fashion way via the compost heap and save the money on the inoculant. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigred Posted August 26, 2012 would be cool if we could get a culture i might go hassle the mycology department at the uni. Would be awesome addition to my fungi collection i have seen broken down plastic with a mold on them . If anyone has access to culture/spores would love a slide or a plate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BentoSpawn Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) No need for agar in your plastic petri dish Edited August 27, 2012 by BentoSpawn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darklight Posted August 27, 2012 No but you might want to culture it in a glass petri so it stays sterile lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites