Fungi are being showcased as versatile engineers for environmental and industrial use, highlighted by the Future is Fungi Awards.

Experts note fungi can degrade some plastics, like polyurethane and polyester-based plastics, but polyethylene and polypropylene resist degradation, keeping large-scale remediation challenging.

The field is expanding to mycelium-based materials for building, insulation, packaging, and potentially biodegradable firefighting foams.

Hiro’s diaper employs a proprietary fungal mix that activates with moisture from baby waste to enzymatically digest plastics in landfill conditions, with lab results in under six months and ongoing simulated real-world testing.

Fungi offer advantages such as growth on inexpensive substrates, tolerance to contamination, and the ability to produce complex metabolites for dyes and emulsifiers, reducing environmental impact.

Researchers are also exploring living fungal-based electronics and sensing, with mycelium-infused materials potentially functioning as simple electronic components and responsive sensors.

Experts warn against overpromising fungi as universal solutions, stressing context-appropriate deployment and the need for broader social-technological changes.

Other award-winning efforts include Michroma and Mycolever, which aim to produce greener additives and natural food colorants via fungal fermentation, cutting petrochemical reliance.

The Future is Fungi Awards seek to accelerate early-stage fungal innovations while emphasizing that fungi should complement, not replace, existing technologies within a broader shift.