Bioplastics like PLA def break down a bit faster, but many are afraid of them creating much more microplastics and their impact on farm land/food supply/water. HIRO is first focused on the harder to break down "regular" soft plastics as there are much more of them, but bioplastics are on the roadmap
Maybe it is just my viewpoint, but this video feels a lot more like a sales pitch than being informative (and thus selling itself). I am interested, but what are the actual numbers? There are so many different types of plastics, how does this come into play? Are there by-products and if so, what are the effects? Is there 3rd party validation that this actually works and is scalable? Is this product just a neat little experiment or is it viable to scale per household (like at home composting)? Don't get me wrong, you drum up a lot of excitement, but that is every scammy sales pitch on YT these days, we need less of the flashy stuff and more down to earth science built on transparency and collaboration (working with the scientific community and seeking out criticism).
Just reminds me of the big plastic clean up over a year ago with that autmated robot thing. Everyone seemed to be super excited about it and on the surface sounded fantastic, but was ultimately a band aid on the massive wound. When selling a baby step as if it were a stride is not success and could be harmful in the public opinion, possibly diverting funds towards something that does help but is nowhere near as entertaining or flashy.
Thanks for the feedback! Very understandable and all good questions. Many of which we have answers, and some not. We launched on Kickstarter as its a place where new projects come to life with community efforts. If we would be 100% done then we would just launch billion ton waste contracts all around the world. We already have 3rd party validation on some of the by-products (e.g. CO2 released from the polymers) and degradation (with FTIR, SEM, etc from couple top universities). Our patents will be published soon (which required this validation) and we're working on a 3rd party validated white paper. Stay tuned!
Please ensure that this doesn’t just generate more microplastics. a jar Timelapse of the decomposition would be great too to see that it “works” too. Love the idea overall though!
Hey there! Good news, this was suggested on my YT homepage in the first 8 slots, even though it has 499 views and 20 likes (after mine ;) )... However, I've got some questions: 1. I was ready to back the Kickstarter campaign, but it seems like you posted this video a day before it ended. :( Is there any way for me to be a backer still? I'd like to give you my money. :) 2. I noticed that the packet tossed into the self-growing kit and the diaper looks to be a packet of the mycelium spawn. For the diaper, it seems that's intended to be tossed into a soiled diaper prior to disposal, but that didn't tell me much... Is the packet made of a biodegradable cellulose that dissolves upon contact with moisture or is it made of a plastic that is edible by the mycelium? 3. Are the diapers in the campaign made of the same plastic fibers that the mycelium is allegedly able to eat, or are they composed of biodegradable materials regardless? Is the diaper intended to be food for the mycelium in addition to whatever soiled the diaper? 4. You mentioned in another comment that the mycelium would do well at digesting PLA-based plastics. Have you considered targeting the 3D printing community? One of the most commonly used plastics for the hobby level of that industry is PLA (and PLA derivatives) and could be a good market to target, especially because many of the people in that hobby are looking for what to do with their failed prints (I could also see people adding mycelium to their prints mid-way through so that the print "self-destructs" over time). Additionally, the FAQ mentions that the mycelium eats PET, but what about PETG? That's probably the 2nd most used material in the hobby 3D printing community, so that'd be an extra bonus if it eats that as well. Thank you for starting and sharing this campaign, and I look forward to seeing where it goes! I'm quite excited to try and join in the community when it opens up to us who only found out about it from this YT video, albeit a day too late! 😅
Hey! Thanks for the thoughtful questions 🙏🏼 1. This was my 3rd video on the concept but you’re right I could have posted it a bit earlier. Either way the Kickstarter still allows for late pledges. You can also follow our bigger launch later this year. 2. Correct, moisture like pee/poop are main activators of the dormant fungi 3. Yes, we use standard plastics found in diapers. No novel alternative materials. This makes the diaper perform better and proves the large scale ability of the fungi 4. Not currently in the road map but it’s a fantastic idea. I’ll mention it in our next R&D meeting
@@ImTero thank you for the reply! I greatly appreciate someone as responsive as you for these sorts of things, because I think this project is very exciting and I'd like to know how I can help scale it up! 1. I'm not quite sure how to sign up as a late pledge... Is there a website that you've created that can link me to those resources, along with any other questions I might have about the project? 2. I realize the moisture provided by waste material are the main activators, but how does that moisture permeate the spawn culture and get it to start propagating outside of the sealed packet? 3. Ahhh okay, so I'm guessing the fungus requires additional substrate to survive and eat the plastic? Or can the mycelium survive solely on plastics? (assumedly plastics with a high exposed-surface-area-to-weight ratio so that the mycelium can more quickly eat the plastic) 4. Thank you! I would love to be able to toss my failed 3D prints into my compost pile, but since PLA typically only composts in industrial composting facilities, we typically don't have the ability to fully absolve ourselves of this guilt, but we tend to be a very eco-conscious sort of folk... especially since 3D printing allows for shipping raw materials and then determining what they turn into later, thus lowering our carbon footprint! ;) I think the type of fungus you've cultivated has some great potential to make biodegradable plastics more guilt-free for a TON of people in the hobbyist 3D printing community. :) 5. BONUS QUESTION: Have you thought of 3D printing your shipping materials out of PLA that's had the fungus inoculated into the prints, so that you can say "when you've removed the contents of this package, toss them in your compost bin."? Even if it's not 3D printed, using mycelium as a rigid packing material has been a cool new trend I've been seeing that seems very applicable to your value proposition. :) Cheers from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA! (and let me know if you want me to do any tests in a dry climate!) :D
Hey! You can support here for a bit longer www.kickstarter.com/projects/hirotechnologies/hiro-experience-plastic-eating-fungi-at-home And yes, fungi can survive solely on plastics, but just like humans they thrive on a bit more diverse "diet" Great idea on packaging as well! Ps. Love New Mexico
Starts with "I have a business that turns over 100's of millions", ends with "but we need your money for the proof of concept" for some reason? If you were just selling an already proven product, I'd be in, but why do you need us to fund this?
They are two different companies with two different teams. But no need to fund us. We got all we need to get to the market. And maybe after that we can earn your trust and business 🙏🏼
I would like to see the decomp in action, it wasn’t exactly showed in the video
Coming soon!
If people would have an area where they could do this daily.. the dumps would get a lot less full so fast. I love this!
We’re working on that for future solution
@ImTero have you tested to see how fast plant based plastic breaks down? I was wondering if it's faster and better for the fun-guys.
Bioplastics like PLA def break down a bit faster, but many are afraid of them creating much more microplastics and their impact on farm land/food supply/water. HIRO is first focused on the harder to break down "regular" soft plastics as there are much more of them, but bioplastics are on the roadmap
Why does this only have 180 views
Maybe it is just my viewpoint, but this video feels a lot more like a sales pitch than being informative (and thus selling itself). I am interested, but what are the actual numbers? There are so many different types of plastics, how does this come into play? Are there by-products and if so, what are the effects? Is there 3rd party validation that this actually works and is scalable? Is this product just a neat little experiment or is it viable to scale per household (like at home composting)? Don't get me wrong, you drum up a lot of excitement, but that is every scammy sales pitch on YT these days, we need less of the flashy stuff and more down to earth science built on transparency and collaboration (working with the scientific community and seeking out criticism).
Just reminds me of the big plastic clean up over a year ago with that autmated robot thing. Everyone seemed to be super excited about it and on the surface sounded fantastic, but was ultimately a band aid on the massive wound. When selling a baby step as if it were a stride is not success and could be harmful in the public opinion, possibly diverting funds towards something that does help but is nowhere near as entertaining or flashy.
Don't get me wrong, I want to believe, but this is not the way.
Thanks for the feedback! Very understandable and all good questions. Many of which we have answers, and some not. We launched on Kickstarter as its a place where new projects come to life with community efforts. If we would be 100% done then we would just launch billion ton waste contracts all around the world. We already have 3rd party validation on some of the by-products (e.g. CO2 released from the polymers) and degradation (with FTIR, SEM, etc from couple top universities). Our patents will be published soon (which required this validation) and we're working on a 3rd party validated white paper. Stay tuned!
Please ensure that this doesn’t just generate more microplastics. a jar Timelapse of the decomposition would be great too to see that it “works” too.
Love the idea overall though!
Yes. Absolutely on both comments!
How have you got 144k subs but your videos average less than 1k?
They used to average a lot more before but not anymore. Maybe because of few videos I made that limited me at least in TikTok. But it’s weird
Cool idea, but I'd love to see less of the marketing and more of the science behind it.
It's coming! Our patents will be published soon as well
Hey there! Good news, this was suggested on my YT homepage in the first 8 slots, even though it has 499 views and 20 likes (after mine ;) )...
However, I've got some questions:
1. I was ready to back the Kickstarter campaign, but it seems like you posted this video a day before it ended. :( Is there any way for me to be a backer still? I'd like to give you my money. :)
2. I noticed that the packet tossed into the self-growing kit and the diaper looks to be a packet of the mycelium spawn. For the diaper, it seems that's intended to be tossed into a soiled diaper prior to disposal, but that didn't tell me much... Is the packet made of a biodegradable cellulose that dissolves upon contact with moisture or is it made of a plastic that is edible by the mycelium?
3. Are the diapers in the campaign made of the same plastic fibers that the mycelium is allegedly able to eat, or are they composed of biodegradable materials regardless? Is the diaper intended to be food for the mycelium in addition to whatever soiled the diaper?
4. You mentioned in another comment that the mycelium would do well at digesting PLA-based plastics. Have you considered targeting the 3D printing community? One of the most commonly used plastics for the hobby level of that industry is PLA (and PLA derivatives) and could be a good market to target, especially because many of the people in that hobby are looking for what to do with their failed prints (I could also see people adding mycelium to their prints mid-way through so that the print "self-destructs" over time). Additionally, the FAQ mentions that the mycelium eats PET, but what about PETG? That's probably the 2nd most used material in the hobby 3D printing community, so that'd be an extra bonus if it eats that as well.
Thank you for starting and sharing this campaign, and I look forward to seeing where it goes! I'm quite excited to try and join in the community when it opens up to us who only found out about it from this YT video, albeit a day too late! 😅
Hey! Thanks for the thoughtful questions 🙏🏼
1. This was my 3rd video on the concept but you’re right I could have posted it a bit earlier. Either way the Kickstarter still allows for late pledges. You can also follow our bigger launch later this year.
2. Correct, moisture like pee/poop are main activators of the dormant fungi
3. Yes, we use standard plastics found in diapers. No novel alternative materials. This makes the diaper perform better and proves the large scale ability of the fungi
4. Not currently in the road map but it’s a fantastic idea. I’ll mention it in our next R&D meeting
@@ImTero thank you for the reply! I greatly appreciate someone as responsive as you for these sorts of things, because I think this project is very exciting and I'd like to know how I can help scale it up!
1. I'm not quite sure how to sign up as a late pledge... Is there a website that you've created that can link me to those resources, along with any other questions I might have about the project?
2. I realize the moisture provided by waste material are the main activators, but how does that moisture permeate the spawn culture and get it to start propagating outside of the sealed packet?
3. Ahhh okay, so I'm guessing the fungus requires additional substrate to survive and eat the plastic? Or can the mycelium survive solely on plastics? (assumedly plastics with a high exposed-surface-area-to-weight ratio so that the mycelium can more quickly eat the plastic)
4. Thank you! I would love to be able to toss my failed 3D prints into my compost pile, but since PLA typically only composts in industrial composting facilities, we typically don't have the ability to fully absolve ourselves of this guilt, but we tend to be a very eco-conscious sort of folk... especially since 3D printing allows for shipping raw materials and then determining what they turn into later, thus lowering our carbon footprint! ;) I think the type of fungus you've cultivated has some great potential to make biodegradable plastics more guilt-free for a TON of people in the hobbyist 3D printing community. :)
5. BONUS QUESTION: Have you thought of 3D printing your shipping materials out of PLA that's had the fungus inoculated into the prints, so that you can say "when you've removed the contents of this package, toss them in your compost bin."? Even if it's not 3D printed, using mycelium as a rigid packing material has been a cool new trend I've been seeing that seems very applicable to your value proposition. :)
Cheers from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA! (and let me know if you want me to do any tests in a dry climate!) :D
Hey!
You can support here for a bit longer www.kickstarter.com/projects/hirotechnologies/hiro-experience-plastic-eating-fungi-at-home
And yes, fungi can survive solely on plastics, but just like humans they thrive on a bit more diverse "diet"
Great idea on packaging as well!
Ps. Love New Mexico
Starts with "I have a business that turns over 100's of millions", ends with "but we need your money for the proof of concept" for some reason? If you were just selling an already proven product, I'd be in, but why do you need us to fund this?
They are two different companies with two different teams. But no need to fund us. We got all we need to get to the market. And maybe after that we can earn your trust and business 🙏🏼