Cork Entrepreneur Innovates Sustainable Mushroom Packaging

Lavanya Bhandari is producing sustainable packaging alternatives from mycelium at her workshop in County Cork, Ireland, contributing to a growing industrial trend known as the shroom boom.

Using mycelium, a fungal material that feeds on agricultural waste, Bhandari grows small containers within a few days. The resulting material is lightweight and durable, designed to protect items during transit before decomposing naturally to return nutrients to the soil.

The Role of Mycelium in Sustainable Design

Mycelium consists of a living network of thread-like filaments that form the main body of a fungus. While the mushroom serves as the fruiting body, the mycelium acts as the essential underlying structure, weaving through wood, leaf litter, and soil.

This biological network releases enzymes to break down organic matter. Mycelium is one of the largest living organisms on Earth, with some colonies stretching across thousands of acres. The material predates forests, flowers, and the first land animals by hundreds of millions of years.

Corporate Adoption and Market Drivers

The transition toward fungal-based materials is being adopted by several large corporations to reduce reliance on synthetic plastics. Dell began using mycelium packaging in 2011 for the shipment of servers.

Ikea has established a target to phase out plastic from all consumer packaging by 2028. This strategy includes the implementation of mycelium as a replacement for styrofoam.

The shift is driven by the scale of global plastic pollution. Approximately 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally every year, yet less than 10 per cent of that material is recycled.

The Bio-Material Ecosystem in Cork

The development of mycelium-based solutions is part of a broader bio-material movement in Cork. Ecoroots, a company based in Cork City, focuses on replacing fossil-fuel-based packaging with biodegradable, circular alternatives grown from the root structure of mushrooms.

To support the growth of the sector, Ecoroots has converted under-used space in its factory into a hybrid office, lab, and test-kitchen R&D space. This facility is designed for early-stage physical-product startups specializing in:

• Bio-materials
• Climate technology
• Food science
• Hardware

The provision of these semi-permanent R&D spaces aims to offer flexibility for founders who require lab access without the commitment of long-term leases.