Circular Economy

Once Again, It’s Fungi to the Rescue – This Time, They're Eating Plastic Pollution

Biotech startup HIRO Technologies has launched a Kickstarter to scale the circular, fungi-powered solution behind its forthcoming MycoDigestible™ diapers.

Published 4 weeks ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: Rawpixel

Each year, the world produces 430 million tons of plastic — yet, under 10 percent is recycled. The rest piles up in landfills, clogs waterways and pollutes oceans — creating a global environmental disaster. Plastic’s durability, which makes it so versatile and indispensable, is also its biggest detriment environmentally: It takes hundreds of years to degrade; and microplastics have infiltrated the air, water and even our bodies — harming biodiversity, and human health and reproductive systems. By 2050, it’s estimated that the oceans will contain more plastic than fish.

While promising plastic alternatives continue to be developed, methods for safely degrading existing plastic waste are just as important — and most promising solutions on that front are still in the startup or research phase.

Enter HIRO Technologies™ — an Austin, Texas-based biotech startup whose Kickstarter campaign, launching today, aims to take its groundbreaking plastic-eating fungi technology from lab to global market. While HIRO’s first consumer application — MycoDigestible™ diapers — is set to debut in February 2025, the focus of this initial launch is on the fungi-powered technology that makes it all possible.

“Our dependence on plastic is unsustainable,” says co-founder Miki Agrawal — whose previous ventures, Thinx and Tushy, are also dedicated to improving the ways we get things out of our systems. “It’s an environmental issue and a human health crisis. We knew we had to look to nature for a solution.”

Fungi are nature’s original decomposers, secreting enzymes that can target and break apart a variety of durable materials — making them a popular solution for “mycoremediating” construction waste and creating biodegradable packaging, textiles and more.

While plastic-eating fungi were first discovered by Yale researchers in 2011, the breakthrough has mostly remained confined to laboratories. HIRO has taken this science to the next level — creating a patented, award-winning, shelf-stable, commercial solution that makes fungi-powered plastic recycling safe, scalable and accessible for consumers and manufacturers alike. Just last week, HIRO Technologies won the prestigious 2024 Hygienix Innovation Award — the highest honor in the non-woven industry.

HIRO’s plastic-eating fungi degrade the carbon chains in plastic, transforming it into soil and mycelium — a valuable byproduct that can enrich ecosystems. Unlike traditional end-of-life methods that require high energy inputs or create harmful emissions, HIRO’s fungi-powered solution is scalable, sustainable and truly circular.

“It’s literally in mushrooms’ DNA to break down complex carbon materials,” explains co-founder Tero Isokauppila, who also founded mushroom coffee brand Four Sigmatic. “They already break down lignin, which has a similar carbon backbone to plastics. We’ve simply re-trained them to do what they already kind of knew how to do."

HIRO’s goal is to partner with manufacturers, consumer brands and waste management companies worldwide to become the global supplier of plastic-eating fungi.

As HIRO gears up for the release of its first product, the world’s first MycoDigestible™ diaper, the company also aims to highlight the unique role of parents and babies in this ecosystem. Diapers, a top contributor to household plastic waste, create an opportunity to pair human-created waste with fungi’s transformative power.

“Baby poop is gold,” Agrawal adds. “Right now, we’re throwing away this incredible fertilizer while relying on pig manure to nourish our crops. Every baby — and every mother — has the potential to fuel this 100-million-year-old technology. By embracing this natural cycle, we can turn waste into life-sustaining material.”

Through the Kickstarter, supporters can help fast-track HIRO’s innovation while gaining access to exclusive rewards, including HIRO’s Plastic Breakdown Kit — a sleek terrarium that demonstrates the fungi-powered recycling process — and the first MycoDigestible diapers at discounted rates. Larger contributions unlock experiences including a masterclass with Isokauppila or even funding a landfill pilot project in a developing country. Every pledge accelerates research and development, bringing scalable fungi-based solutions to consumers and industries worldwide.