{"id":253652,"date":"2025-10-21T17:50:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/?p=253652"},"modified":"2025-10-21T17:50:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:50:05","slug":"can-diaper-eating-mushrooms-save-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/et\/blog\/can-diaper-eating-mushrooms-save-the-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Diaper-Eating Mushrooms Save The Planet?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019ve heard about plastic-eating mushrooms, and even fungi thriving in the radioactive soil of Chernobyl. But now, a startup is aiming even bigger: using fungi to break down disposable diapers \u2014 a massive source of plastic waste.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HIRO Technologies<\/a> (co-founded by mushroom entrepreneur Tero Isokauppila and period-wear pioneer Miki\u202fAgrawal) <\/em>is deploying a mycelium-based solution to tackle diaper waste and, by extension, the broader plastic crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Idea Was Inspired By Real Life Experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Tero, this feels like a natural next step. After a career in functional mushrooms, nutrition and psychedelics, he became fascinated with environmental applications of mycology:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI studied chemistry and nutrition, and that inspired me to get into the [functional mushroom and mycology] worlds through health wellness, and then later, psychedelics,\u201d he told DoubleBlind.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlong the way, I obviously was also exposed to the environmental potential of mushrooms and mycoremediation. \u2026 And what I know is that certain fungal species [are] able to break down the plastic polymers of diapers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Though he\u2019s since stepped back operationally, he remains a major shareholder. Miki first approached him in 2020 with the concept. He was resistant \u2014 until 2021, when the birth of their first child brought home the scale of the problem: he found himself changing nearly 14 diapers a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI didn\u2019t realise how massive this [waste] problem is. Diapers are the number one household plastic waste item. At that point, I told [Miki], \u2018Okay, I\u2019m in. Let\u2019s do it. The world needs this, right?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Vintage diaper advert (via Creative Commons)<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why Diapers Are a Big Deal in the Plastic-Waste Equation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Disposable diapers rank among the largest single-use plastic waste items in households. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)<\/em>, infant and adult disposable diapers generated 4.1 million tons<\/a> of solid waste in the U.S. in 2018 alone. And that figure doesn\u2019t even account for global volumes. Other studies estimate around 27 billion soiled disposable diapers get buried in U.S. landfills each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEvery disposable diaper ever created is still sitting in a landfill today,\u201d Tero says.
\u201cBy solving the diaper problem, we can also solve most consumer plastic issues in the future. So it was like an Archimedes lever. If we can do the diaper, we can do almost any [type of waste].\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since conventional diapers take roughly 450 to 500 years<\/strong> to decompose (as reported in Science of the Total Environment<\/a>),<\/em> the idea of accelerating that timeline is compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fungal-Breakdown Solution: Mycoremediation Meets Diaper Waste<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

HIRO\u2019s technology builds on more than a decade of research into fungi that can degrade plastic polymers. For example: a review study<\/a> found that many members of fungal groups (Ascomycota<\/a>, Basidiomycota<\/a>, Mucoromycota<\/a>)<\/em> have shown plastic-degrading capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tero explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe tested 34 [mycelium] species, and along the way, we\u2019ve added a couple more dozen. So we\u2019ve tested dozens and dozens of types [of fungi]. When we started commercialising, we took the top five that we\u2019ve now been working with the most \u2026 that show the most efficacy.\u201d<\/em>
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He calls it a \u201csuperhero fungal blend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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via Creative Commons<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While HIRO wouldn\u2019t disclose which exact species are in the blend, their approach is consistent with the broader science. For instance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n