Global plastic waste has more than doubled, and 40% of that waste comes from packaging. Fortunately, there is no shortage of sustainable packaging startups in Europe. Just have a look at: Circleback (Germany), Recup (Germany), Sourceful (UK), a • year (Germany), Shellworks (UK), Woola (Estonia), Papkot (France), Biotic (Israel), FunCell (France). ) ) and Traceless (Germany).
The latest to join those ranks is Magical Mushroom company (MMC). It has now raised £3 million in funding led by Ecovative Design LLC with participation from Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity – a green energy company in the UK; Robert Del Naja (activist); and Marcus Watson, co-founder of Adoreum Partners, who brought in 30 other investors.
The investment will be used to finance the opening of the first raw materials factory.
MMC’s solution is a direct replacement for packaging made from plastics such as polystyrene and cardboard. It does this by combining agricultural waste with mycelium – the root structure of fungi. The result, the company claims, is biodegradable (in 45 days), durable and comparable in price to traditional packaging derived from fossil fuels such as polystyrene.
Launched in 2019, MMC customers include Raymarine, BA Components, Castrads, Ffern, Selfridges, Lush, Seedlip and ID Watch, among many others.
Paul Gilligan, CEO & Founder at Magical Mushroom Company, said in a statement: “We are just eight years away from meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and businesses play a role. important role – but they need viable and cost-effective solutions to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint across their entire supply chain. We are proud to be creating value from waste and unlocking the potential of mycelium. “
