Styrofoam That Will Protect Your Television And Garden!

Did you know that Styrofoam, that ubiquitous packaging that seems to show up with everything we buy, not only fills up 25 percent of our landfills, but also, uses 1.5 liters of gas in every cubic foot? Luckily, now there is an alternative - One that is completely recyclable and does not use our valuable resources.

The brainchild of a company called Ecovative, EcoCradle can be made from any useless by-product from agriculture - which depending on the country could range from corn husks in China to buckwheat husks and oat hulls in the U.S.A., or soybean husks in Spain.

The husks are first cleaned, cooked and cooled. Once ready, they are pasteurized and then mixed with mycelium, the root systems of mushrooms. The resulting mix is that put into the desired mold and left for five days, which gives the two materials time to react.

The resulting material is very similar to Styrofoam - Water resistant, insulating and able to absorb both physical and acoustical impacts. Because it's density and resilience can be changed by using different husks, it can be used for packaging almost any product. Most important of all is that fact, that it is not much more expensive than other packaging materials.

However the best part is, that EcoCradle can be broken into tiny pieces and used as mulch in the garden, where it helps improve soil retention and provide nutrients to plants. Don't have a garden? Not to worry, EcoCradle not only decomposes completely, but also, does it anaerobically, that is without using up our precious oxygen. To read more about innovative packaging, check out: http://www.ecovativedesign.com.

Sources: gizmag.com, ecovativedesign.com