Biodegradable Packaging | Nightly Business Report | PBS | Planet Forward
Keeping fragile items safe with environmentally friendly fungus grown into packing material. Entrepreneur's green vision aims to put Styrofoam out of business. www.pbs.org TOM HUDSON: Along with all the wrapping paper and cardboard boxes left over from Christmas, you may have thrown out some Styrofoam packing peanuts. But that Styrofoam will stay in landfills for hundreds of years. Tonight we continue our partnership with "Planet Forward," the George Washington University social media project using your ideas to change the future. Frank Sesno considers what if you could pack stuff in a material that`s cheap, more environmentally friendly and made from mushrooms? FRANK SESNO, PROF., GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Eben Bayer is the portrait of the young, idealistic entrepreneur. On "Planet Forward," Bayer talked about his big idea, which he developed as an undergrad studying mechanical engineering. Bayer thinks he can transform an industry, reduce energy consumption and make money. Instead of using petroleum, Bayer`s company uses agricultural waste. We wanted to see for ourselves. Could this really mushroom into a business that could make a difference? We visited the plant outside Albany, New York and Eben Bayer showed us around. EBEN BAYER, CEO, ECOVATIVE DESIGN: Our business model is to transform these low-value wastes into something with value. We do that by binding them together and adding a shape. SESNO: They mix seed husks with a cultured fungus and pour it all into ...
Tags: nightly business report., plastic, pbs, eco-friendly products, green products, planet forward, styrofoam, mycology, packing materials, mushrooms, entrepreneur, polystyrene, disposable packaging, compost, bio products, biodegradable packing, ecocradle, mycelium, agricultural waste
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@voyeurdug This is a total waste (cough) of time ,investment and money.This buffoon could not supply large runs of packaging and the end cost would be significantly higher than styrene/styrofoam. He's a con artist at worst and a deluded crank at best. The only way forward for biodegradable products is, Polylactic/starch based products.
@ghost61982 .He is scaring no one as he will never be able to sustain large runs.
This is a total waste (cough) of time ,investment and money.This buffoon could not supply large runs of packaging and the end cost would be significantly higher than styrene/styrofoam. He's a con artist at worst and a deluded crank at best. The only way forward for biodegradable products is, Polylactic/starch based products.
I Believe This Was A Video Clip Of PBS-TV's Nightly Business Report's Planet Forward Report On Biodegradable Packaging On Thursday Evening, December 30, 2010.
Some organic (completely biodegradable) alternative could ~probably~ be found to replace the ubiquitous plastic grocery store bags. For instance... what happens to the fiber from non-food crops (like switchgrass) used for biofuels? Or, the fiber from food crops (say, corn) used for high-fructose corn syrup?
For that matter, having uses for ag byproducts could spur bringing marginal land back into production, spurring rural employment.
I just hope the elites dont get to him.
Way to think outside the box! Im down.
The problem now is that you have to grow enough of it to use as many by the millions ... now how many can you grow? How much space do you need to grown this? How much nature will be hurt to grow more mushrooms?
I'm all for it! But what about allergy concerns?
This business is going to be very very successful.
Awesome!
hope this catches on i hate stytofoam with a passion, talk about one of the most abundant sources of pollutant on earth
You're scaring the plastic industry and that's a good thing.
why didnt i come up with this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!