Environment: Are mushroom surfboards the future of surfing?

Could mushrooms beryllium the green, plastic-free aboriginal of surfing?

That is surely the presumption of 23-year-old committee decorator Steve Davies, from Porthcawl.

Using an innovative worldly made from the root-like structures of mushrooms, Mr Davies is processing his ain plastic-free surfboard.

"It sounds a small spot crazy, but it's a mode to get distant from polystyrene, polyurethane and resin boards that tin beryllium successful landfill and not decompose for hundreds to thousands of years," helium said.

"There's implicit 400,000 boards made each year," Mr Davies explained.

Of these, 80% are not sustainable.

"And adjacent erstwhile it does interruption down, it tin spell into fish's ecosystem and bio-accumulate, truthful it ends up that humans volition extremity up eating this polystyrene plastic", helium added.

The erstwhile plan pupil developed the conception arsenic portion of his last twelvemonth task astatine Cardiff Metropolitan University, wherever helium acceptable retired to find a solution to the sport's biology impact.

This is erstwhile Mr Davies started looking into fungi.

Mycelium is simply a compound that is recovered successful a wide scope of fungi. It forms a root-like operation that has wide ranging benefits crossed earthy ecosystems.

Its properties person besides been recovered to person important imaginable for different man-made uses.

Mr Davies uses mycelium to enactment arsenic a glue betwixt a moulded, earthy skeleton operation that helium forms successful a mould.

It is betwixt the skeleton, made of materials similar straw, that the mycelium roots turn to signifier a polystyrene-like worldly - 1 that is perfect for shaping a board.

Alone, mushrooms would not beryllium enough. Without a waterproof coating, the integrated worldly would simply lavation distant - not perfect erstwhile you're paddling for a wave.

To find a solution that volition some assistance the thrust and permission nary interaction connected the ocean, Mr Davies has tested a scope of integrated sealants similar bees wax and linseed oil.

"The properties of mycelium compared to a foam specified arsenic polyurethane tin beryllium the same", helium said.

"It volition instrumentality a small spot of modification and the close taxon of mushroom to turn it but, eventually, I don't spot immoderate crushed wherefore mushroom boards couldn't beryllium utilized successful the apical elite level of surfing, close down to beginner level."

The ecological interaction of the athletics is hugely important to the surfing community, who spot the impacts of integrative contamination archetypal hand.

Izzy Ross, from run radical Surfers Against Sewage, believes projects similar Steve's are conscionable what the assemblage wants.

"The manufacture is not doing capable astatine all. It's fantastic to spot these tiny projects and the large minds down them trying to tackle this and I deliberation it's fantastic work, but the occupation is much systemic than that," she said.

"A batch of surfers and h2o lovers tin spot the harm that idiosyncratic effects tin have. It is thing that astir of us, I think, person a immense involvement successful - they're conscionable waiting for the innovations to happen."

Of course, this innovation is of small value if mushroom boards cannot beryllium commercially produced.

When competing against established, fast-paced accumulation lines, is it truly viable?

Similar materials person been trialled by different committee designers successful caller years but, truthful far, they are yet to regenerate the staple board-making, plastic-heavy materials.

Mr Davies believes with the close backing and set-up, these boards could beryllium the answer.

"In the close conditions, we volition turn a mycelium committee successful astir 21 days," helium said.

"The imagination would beryllium to marque it the caller norm. Connecting with quality would beryllium the caller plan rules and a batch of things similar that would beryllium truly cool."

Mr Davies added: "We're utilizing the sea, we should springiness backmost to the oversea and it should beryllium a circular model."