Diaper duty development: Hiro unveils nappy-eating fungi

In Texas, a startup has introduced a new diaper concept that aims to address one of the biggest challenges parents face: balancing sustainability with convenience. Based in Austin, Hiro Technologies tells Reuters parents simply add a packet of its fungi to the used MycoDigestible Diaper. The moisture-activated fungi begins eating the diaper after a few days.

“Many, many moons ago, fungi evolved to break down trees, especially this hard-to-break-down compound in trees called lignin. … Its carbon backbone is very similar to the carbon backbone of plastics because essentially they’re made out of the same thing,” said Hiro Technologies co-founder Tero Isokauppila. The company hopes to have enough data to begin making product claims in 2026. Isokauppila hopes the company can eventually expand into sanitary napkins and adult diapers.