Turkey Tail Fungus Turns Construction Waste Into Low-Carbon Insulation
- Gauri Khanna
- 4 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Researchers at the University of Bath have shown that Trametes versicolor, commonly known as turkey tail, can grow through waste oriented strand board (OSB) and convert it into a thermally insulating composite material.
The fungus breaks down the engineered wood and sends out a network of root-like threads called mycelium, which binds the chipped material into a sturdy, fire-resistant composite without synthetic adhesives.
Carbon emissions from producing the new material were more than ten times lower than those from conventional insulation products, including expanded polystyrene and mineral wool, pointing to a potentially significant role for mycelium composites in reducing construction's carbon footprint.
The construction industry generates enormous volumes of waste, and much of it is surprisingly difficult to recycle. Wood waste alone accounts for almost a third of all construction and demolition waste, and nearly 10% of total landfill waste, according to the University of Bath research team. A large proportion of that wood has been engineered for durability, bonded with synthetic resins that prevent decomposition and release toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases when they eventually break down.
Construction Waste and the Recycling Problem
Oriented Strand Board (OSB), a widely used engineered wood product made from compressed wood flakes bonded with synthetic resins, is a particularly troublesome example. Found in interior walls, flooring, and roof decking across the construction industry, waste OSB is routinely burned or buried. Neither outcome is desirable: combustion releases the chemical additives locked into the board, while landfill burial poses slow but persistent environmental risks.
It is precisely this difficult category of waste that researchers at the University of Bath set out to address.
What the Researchers Found
The study, led by Joni Wildman in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, tested whether Trametes versicolor, a wood-rotting fungus found throughout UK woodlands and commonly known as turkey tail, could colonise waste OSB despite its synthetic additives. The researchers chipped and soaked the waste board before introducing the fungus, then monitored its growth and the properties of the resulting material.
The fungus grew successfully on the OSB, which was not guaranteed given the presence of industrial resins. As the mycelium spread through the chipped material, it broke down the organic components and bound the substrate into a solid, consistent composite. The resulting biomaterial demonstrated thermal performance on a par with conventional insulation products. Crucially, its production generated carbon emissions more than ten times lower than those associated with expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene, and mineral wool.
Wildman described the dual function as a meaningful advance: this is the first time a fungus has been shown simultaneously creating a usable insulation material and transforming a potentially harmful waste stream into something of value. Project supervisor Dr Andrew Shea, also of the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, characterised the findings as a step towards using biology to rethink how materials are made and used in construction.
The work builds on a growing body of research into mycelium-based insulation, and sits within broader efforts to find sustainable uses for difficult waste streams in the built environment, including fungi-based bioconcrete and self-healing architectural materials.
Limitations and the Road Ahead
The results are promising, but the research team is candid about what remains to be resolved. Energy use during manufacturing, particularly the drying stage, was identified as the largest remaining source of carbon emissions in the process. Reducing that energy demand will be essential before the approach can be considered genuinely low-impact at scale.
Long-term durability is also unproven. The team intends to monitor how the material performs over time and across different moisture conditions, both of which matter considerably in building applications. Behaviour in humid environments, for instance, could affect both thermal performance and structural integrity.
Scaling the process from laboratory to industrial production presents its own challenges, and the researchers acknowledge that further work is needed to understand whether the approach is commercially viable. They also plan to investigate whether similarly challenging waste streams, including plastics and toxic materials, could be processed through fungal conversion in analogous ways.
If those questions can be answered, the potential applications extend beyond insulation. The team has suggested that the same principle could apply to packaging, soundproofing, and textiles, replacing high-carbon synthetic materials with biodegradable, circular alternatives.
For now, the University of Bath study demonstrates that a fungus found in British woodland can do something no recycling plant currently can: turn resin-bound construction waste into a useful, low-carbon material.