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Earth Finds A Way - plastics


Grandmother Earth knows a lot. You just have to listen, learn, then make it part of your lifestyle.

One case in point is mushrooms. Did you know there are certain varieties of mushrooms that can break down plastics?

Plastics can take 20 plus years to decompose. "Certain species of fungi use the natural process of mycoremediation to degrade plastics. How long does it take for a mushroom to eat plastic? It depends on the mushroom species. The time it takes for a mushroom to bread down and consume plastic ranges between 2-weeks to several months." (Gallagher)

What if we were to buy a small plastic grinding station. A plastic shredder if you will, to make the plastic "bite size" for the mushrooms to easily consume the plastic. But what mushrooms do you need? Well, that seems to be a bit difficult for me to answer right now. More research is needed. Lets just say I can imagine selection would be based on regional climate. Then what would you do during inclement winter months? Save the shredding until the mushroom growing season, or try and keep the process going with an in-house process?

One thing I believe is for sure. If you go and do this, you may realize how much plastic you are consuming, and then change your habits to buy containers and utensils (and other products) that helps earth to be more sustainable. With that, you still may still be buying plastic, however at a much reduced rate.

Lets get back to the mechanism to shred plastic. There are units on Amazon that go for thousands of dollars. Everyone trying to make a buck, including the lawyers in our highly litigated society. The United States being the highest in the world. So, lets be real. A plastic shredding mechanism could be dangerous to humans, like operating a snow blower. These accidents are real, and can be serious. If you are in business making machinery that has a risk of injury or death to someone, be ready for high insurance costs and possible lawsuits.

Okay, now the waring is out. I do not want you thinking anyone can DIY and live happily ever after. As a DIY'r you are on your own. Risk and all. Because you chose to do it.

With that aside, it would be nice to hear from a lawyer of the pros and cons. Can I make a kit for a DIY'r to build, call it experimental, go LLC or some other way to protect me from lawsuits and loosing my personal assets? If so, I believe I can go into business selling drawings and/or kits to a DIY'r to make their own plastic shredding machine, and obviously with a lot of disclaimers. Oh, and of course provide the mushroom spores for you to plant.

In leiu of that, here are a couple of YouTubes I found that you may be interested in viewing. Please please please, you are on your own with this. These machines are dangerous to limb and body. You are making the choice, and are fully responsible for your actions when you pursue this. Hey, lawyers make the world go 'round. I need to protect myself too.



Be cautious too when using terminology. I purposefully wrote "more sustainable" for a reason. Many websites caution that statements of eco-friendly, going green, and similar, are "greenwashing" the terminology to the point of perhaps misleading consumers. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (yes, ISO and not IOS) has standards 14020 and 14024 for use of environmental labels. Like every other industry, ISO has become a universal global guidance to processes that everyone can accept, should they choose to.

I still have to obtain copies of ISO 14020 and 14024 to offer what their guidance is. In the meantime take a look at the references below.

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References:

Gallagher, Katherine. "Plastic-Eating Mushrooms: Species, Benefits, Impact." Treehugger: Sustainability for All, 14 Dec. 2022, http://www.treehugger.com/mushroom-that-eats-plastic-5121023#:~:text=Certain%20species%20of%20fungi%20use,two%20weeks%20to%20several%20months. Accessed 22 Apr. 2023.

Abdelrahman, Amina L. "What Does "Eco-Friendly" Actually Mean?" Good Housekeeping, 3 Mar. 2022, www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/a29830418/what-eco-friendly-means/. Accessed 22 Apr. 2023.


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Location: Griffith, IN, USA

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