Oyster mushrooms put out a thin white fiber called mycelium, which covers a cigarette butt and breaks it down while drawing nutrients from it.
According to various reports, mushrooms can be “taught” to eat and break down the plastics present in cigarette filters. Oyster mushrooms put out a thin white fiber called mycelium, which covers a cigarette butt and breaks it down while drawing nutrients from it. This is encouraging news for the disposal and littering problem of the estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts thrown out each year
According to ABC News Australia, the key points are:
- Oyster mushrooms are being trained to feast on cigarette butts to break down their microplastics and create a reusable product
- In an Australian first, Wollongong City Council will partner with researchers to address the waste issue
- Cigarette butts are one of the world's biggest litter problems, with 4.5 trillion butts discarded into the environment every year
ABC reported that one fungi researcher said the key is training or convincing oyster mushrooms that cigarette butts are edible, adding "Fortunately, training a mushroom to digest a cigarette butt is like training a baby to eat.” Once the mushroom begins the digestive process, it is able to break down the butts, including the microplastics in them, to create a reusable material.
The mushrooms put out fine webs of mycelium and after some time, the dirty cigarette butts start digesting that material.
There is an initiative in Wollongong City, Australia placing a number of new cigarette butt bins at key locations around the town. Instead of sending the butts to landfill, they will be used in trials at Fungi Solutions, a local research firm located in the city who will conduct the experiments.
The trial is expected to take up to two years.