Mushrooms That Clean Rivers: The $15 Solution Beating Million-Dollar Systems

???? 20-year-old students created a water treatment solution that outperforms multi-million-dollar systems — using mushrooms grown on used coffee grounds!

The project by students from the Rhode Island School of Design goes even further than it sounds: each mycelium pod costs just $15 to produce and removes 89% of pollutants in 30 days, including heavy metals and chemicals.

The most revolutionary part?

Reishi mycelium absorbs toxins as it grows, literally "eating" the contamination.

When the pods degrade in 6 months, they release nutrients that stimulate the growth of native aquatic plants, creating a self-sustaining regenerative cycle. ????

Just imagine applying this to rivers in Brazil!

The Tietê, Paraíba do Sul, or any polluted urban water body could be recovered with accessible tech developed by visionary youth.

This is biomimicry in action: copying nature’s processes to solve human-made problems.

Nature has always had the answers — we just needed to learn its language. ????

Solutions like this prove that innovation doesn’t have to be complex to be transformative.

Want to discover more biotechnologies that are changing the world?

Our UGREEN immersion presents real-world cases and practical applications. Last spots available – link in bio! ????

Which river in your city would you love to see cleaned up like this?

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#Mycelium #NaturalBioremediation #SustainableInnovation #CleanRivers #GreenTechnology #UGREEN #YouthBiotech #shorts