JERUSALEM, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli biotech company has developed environmentally friendly food packaging made from fungi in an effort to replace polluting plastics, the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) said on Friday.
In a post on its Facebook account, the IIA noted that the food packaging sector leaves a substantial environmental footprint, especially due to the prevalent use of plastics that results in a notable surge in waste production.
In addition, the manufacturing of packaging materials such as plastic, glass, and metal consumes energy and resources, which contribute to carbon emissions, it added.
To address these issues, the sustainable packaging startup MadeRight developed a circular economy model that uses organic industrial waste as a source of nutrients for cultivating fungi.
In the first stage of the procedure, fungi are grown by fermentation on a substrate made of industrial organic waste, and in the second stage, the fungi are turned into high-value biomaterials. The company then uses the new materials to create packaging that is customized for existing packaging machinery in a wide range of industries.
The new method makes use of the qualities of fungi for a large-scale production of the new packages. These qualities include incredibly fast growth, availability all year round, and adaptation to all climates, according to the company.
MadeRight noted that its recyclable and durable clean solution uses materials that are widely available from diverse sources, minimizing the need to transport raw materials and thus reducing carbon emissions.
