Plastic waste inefficiently recycled poses a major environmental concern attracting attention from both civil society and decision makers. Counteracting the phenomenon is an important challenge today. New possibilities are being explored to find alternatives to plastics, and one of them refers to mycelium-composite materials (MCM). Our study aimed at investigating the possibility of using wood and litter inhabiting basidiomycetes, an underexplored group of fungi that grow fast and create strong mycelial mats, to produce biodegradable materials with valuable properties, using cheap by-products as a substrate for growth. Seventy-five strains have been tested for their ability to grow on low-nutrient media and to form compact mycelial mats. Eight strains were selected further for evaluation on several raw substrates for producing in vitro myco-composites. The physico-mechanical properties of these materials, such as firmness, elasticity and impermeability, were analyzed. Abortiporus biennis RECOSOL73 was selected to obtain, at the laboratory scale, a real biodegradable product. Our results suggest that the strain used is a promising candidate with real possibilities for scalability. Finally, corroborating our results with scientific available data, discussions are being made over the feasibility of such technology, cost-effectiveness, scalability, availability of raw materials and, not least, where future studies should be directed to.

The environmental impact of petroleum-derived materials has intensified the search for sustainable and biodegradable alternatives consistent with circular economy principles. Mycelium-based composites (MBCs) offer a biological route for transforming low-value lignocellulosic residues into functional materials. This review analyses fungal species, fungal biology, substrates, fabrication strategies, material properties, applications and production costs using the interaction among fungal species, substrate and processing as its organising principle. The literature survey records 126 fungal species tested or screened for composite production. The influence of substrates, cultivation conditions, fabrication methods and post-processing on material properties is critically evaluated. Recent advances in biofabrication and performance improvement are discussed in relation to their technological maturity and cost effectiveness. Applications in packaging, construction, insulation, furniture and textiles, which range from laboratory proofs of concept to commercial products, illustrate the versatility of MBCs, while variability, process standardisation, large-scale manufacturing and performance optimisation remain challenges. The environmental benefits of MBCs are shown to depend more on production steps than on their biological origin alone. The review identifies research priorities for making production more scalable and economically competitive, including species selection, cultivation optimisation and the integration of biological knowledge with material processing. These directions provide a basis for advancing fungal materials within sustainable manufacturing and circular resource use.