The question of how to handle the waste created by the construction and demolition sectors has been a perennial problem in sustainability circles.

In the US alone, the sectors produce 660 million tons of waste annually, which is more than twice the amount of municipal solid waste produced per year.

And with landfills at 85% capacity and global construction on the rise, the need to find a solution that does not involve incineration or exporting the waste to another part of the world has never been greater.

One possible solution might be closer to home than you think, as it comes in the shape of mushrooms that have literally been trained to eat the trash of the built environment sector.

The nature-inspired biotechnology startup, Mycocycle has developed such a process.

Its CEO and founder, Joanne Rodriguez said the mycelium fungal root structure of the mushroom can help break down and detoxify many waste construction materials.

These materials include asphalt shingles, insulation board, crumb rubber, gypsum drywall, fibers, and other hard-to-recycle building materials.

She added this is because all of these materials contain petroleum-derived chemicals like heavy hydrocarbons or plasticizers.

Rodriguez said in an interview the process her company has developed can reduce the toxicity of such materials by up to 98%, transforming them into new composite materials, which can be used in products like insulation, acoustic tiles and floors.

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