The company was the only one from North America selected to be featured in the series. The episode airs October 29 at 8 p.m. ET.

Mycocycle, Inc., a leader in using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste, is proud to announce it will be featured in season two of the Bloomberg Media series An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet, hosted by actor and climate advocate Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who is best known for his role as Jamie Lanister HBO’s Game of Thrones series.

According to Bloomberg Media, the series shines a spotlight on individuals and communities across the planet who are driving humanity toward a brighter, more sustainable future. Mycocycle’s process of using fungi to transform waste materials into a reusable resource captured the attention of show producers because of its ability to dramatically reduce the negative impact that the construction industry has on the environment.

“Of all of the materials that we produce in the world, 90 percent of it ends up in some form of waste stream,” Mycocycle founder Joanne Rodriguez explained to Coster-Waldau in a clip from the season trailer. The resulting biomaterial that is produced from Mycocycle’s process is both fire- and water-resistant and can be used in the manufacture of many new products, including building materials, resulting in a true closed-loop ecosystem.

To celebrate the inclusion of Mycocycle, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago is planning to host a private watch party the night the episode is aired on October 29, 2025. Rodriguez is a trustee of the organization.

The six-part season will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Bloomberg Originals, available on major streaming platforms such as Samsung TV+, Amazon Prime Video and LG channels. It will also air at 10:00 p.m. ET on Bloomberg TV and be available on demand on Bloomberg.com and YouTube.

Watch the season trailer here.

About Mycocycle

Mycocycle, Inc. is a nature-inspired and woman-owned biotechnology startup that leverages fungi to transform industrial waste into reusable materials. Founded in 2018, the company is on a mission to drive circularity in the construction supply chain and divert waste from landfills with its innovative solution. Mycocycle blends lab-cultivated fungi with debris at the point of waste generation to detoxify hard-to-recycle building materials and turn them into new raw materials. Its customers include companies across the waste management, recycling and manufacturing industries, as well as companies focused on reducing Scope 3 emissions. 

By Karen Edwards.

A sustainable approach to waste management.

Roofing Technology Think Tank (RT3) members traveled to the Chicago area recently to visit with Mycocycle founder and CEO Joanne Rodriguez at her company headquarters to learn more about how they are harvesting the power of mushrooms to tackle the challenge of construction debris.  

Joanne shared that 11% of world greenhouse gas emissions derive from construction materials – from resource extraction to disposal. Traditional waste management methods often rely on disposal or recycling that can still be resource-intensive which is why Mycocycle is transforming the paradigm by employing nature's own recyclers — mushrooms.

“So why mushrooms?” asks Joanne. “There is a huge body of work around micro remediation as a form of bioremediation. We're not the first to do it, we're just the first to do it in an industrial application.”

Mushrooms are known for their remarkable ability to decompose organic matter, thanks to their network of mycelium — tiny thread-like structures that act as nature’s decomposers. Mycocycle taps into this biological power to upcycle debris that would otherwise be discarded.

How it started

After spending nearly 20 years in the commercial roofing industry and being tasked with leading a recycling program for the manufacturer, Joanne realized that recycling in the roofing industry was not even close. Once she turned 50, she realized she wanted to “do better” and do something about this issue so she set out on her own.  

“When I went independent, I went on a quest for knowledge, as well as to beef up my skills,” explained Joanne. “I took a course from Oregon State University, and I learned about fungi and their remediative qualities.”

“When I learned about the heavy hydrocarbons that they could cycle through, just like those we find in petrochemicals and bitumens that are going into our products, I connected with a mycologist, which is a specialist in fungi, and we put a handful of spores on some off-the-shelf asphalt roof shingles, and it grew within seven days.”  

Joanne formed a company and filed a patent for that process. After meeting our own Heidi J. Ellsworth in 2018, Joanne worked to secure funding and support from leading roofing industry players but was met with skepticism and doubt. Convinced that this process would work, Joanne incubated and accelerated the company in 2019 and launched through the National Renewable Energy Labs in March 2020. After receiving validation of the problem, the Covid pandemic shut everything down, slowing down her momentum.  

“I started to try to find people,” said Joanne. “I'm not a scientist, I'm just curious, trying to solve a problem.” Within a year of leasing her first space, they had outgrown it. “Today we're in over 10,000 square feet. We have another 10,000 square feet we’re expanding to in Georgia, and we have many installations via our Mycontainers. The whole goal for us is to upcycle waste from the built environment.”  

Upcycling old carpets  

The one industry where Mycocycle has gained traction is the carpet industry. “One thing I wanted to solve was how we could upcycle or reuse the waste more effectively and how we could get greener, cleaner chemicals to do that.”  

The carpet industry is seeing a lot of emerging regulations, says Joanne. “They haven't hit the roofing sector yet, but they are hitting the flooring sector very hard. Within the next three years. Things like commercial carpets must have at least 5% recycled content from their industry. It can't come from PET water bottles.”

“We're able to reduce the embodied carbon of materials by 98% for carpet specifically. We are coming from commercial carpet waste and producing a Nylon 6 replacement. Our products are competitively priced and outperform petrochemicals today. That's one of my very big points of pride that we're able to compete against virgin polymers and win. We are defining a new category of materials management.”

The process and result

The Mycocycle process begins with sorting and preparing construction waste. Materials are selected based on their compatibility with the fungi's decomposition capabilities. Once prepared, the debris is inoculated with specific strains of fungi that thrive on the chosen substrates. Over time, the fungi metabolize the waste, breaking it down into simpler compounds.

The end result is a transformed material that can be used for various applications, such as bio-based building materials, insulation or soil amendments. This innovative process not only reduces the need for landfill disposal but also creates sustainable products that can re-enter the construction cycle.

This summer an athletic field is being installed in South Carolina that will be the first carbon neutral athletic field. One of the largest suppliers of athletic turf is using MycoFILL, upcycled from old carpet, in the manufacture of their turf infill that not only keeps the field cooler and is safer for athletes, but eliminates the need for using rubber and microplastics in their manufacturing process.  

Implications for the future

Mycocycle's work represents a significant step forward in sustainable waste management. By harnessing the natural capabilities of mushrooms, the company is addressing one of the construction industry's most pressing problems in an innovative and environmentally responsible way. As the technology gains traction, it has the potential to revolutionize how waste is handled across multiple industries, setting a precedent for bio-based solutions to global challenges.

In a world where sustainability is increasingly critical, Mycocycle stands as a shining example of how nature and technology can work hand in hand to create a better, greener future.

One of 40 cleantech startups selected globally, Mycocycle will present its patent-pending products to potential investors and other cleantech industry stakeholders.  

Mycocycle, Inc., a leader in using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste, is proud to announce it was selected to present its patent-pending process that transforms construction waste into low-carbon raw materials for the built environment to investors and industry representatives at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) 2024 Industry Growth Forum (IGF), May 1-3, in Denver, Colorado. The U.S. Department of Energy’s NREL hosts the IGF, now in its 29th year. It is one of the nation’s premier events for cleantech entrepreneurs and other industry experts. Mycocycle earned the presentation spot from a field of more than 210 entrepreneurs following an extensive selection process.  

Mycocycle’s process of using fungi to transform waste materials into a reusable resource captured the attention of cleantech stakeholders because of its ability to dramatically reduce the negative impact that the construction industry has on the environment. The resulting biomaterial that is produced is both fire- and water-resistant and can be used in the manufacture of many new products, including building materials, resulting in a true closed-loop ecosystem.  

“We are thrilled to be able to showcase our nature-based solutions that are transforming how we handle construction waste,” Mycocyle CEO and Founder Joanne Rodriguez stated. “Our process is able to leverage mushrooms to reduce emissions in two of the heaviest-polluting industries and transform waste to resources.”  

Innovation centers like NREL build new models to aid key players in the energy innovation environment, and the IGF is a nexus for the industry. It is a one-of-a-kind, premier event for cleantech entrepreneurs, investors and experts from industry and the public sector. A major feature is the session of one-on-one meetings between potential investors and innovators. NREL is the only U.S. federal laboratory dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency research. 

For more information and a complete list of IGF presenting companies, please visit https://www.nrelforum.com/.  

About Mycocycle 

Mycocycle, Inc. is a nature-inspired and woman-owned biotechnology startup that leverages fungi to transform industrial waste into reusable materials. Founded in 2018, the company is on a mission to drive circularity in the construction supply chain and divert waste from landfills with its innovative solution. Mycocycle blends lab-cultivated fungi with debris at the point of waste generation to detoxify hard-to-recycle building materials and turn them into new raw materials. Its customers include companies across the waste management, recycling and manufacturing industries, as well as companies focused on reducing Scope 3 emissions.  

In 2023, Mycocycle was issued a Declare label for its "MycoFILL© G" materials through the International Living Futures Institute, which recognized its products as Red List Chemical Free. Mycocycle is a FastCompany World Changing Ideas finalist and its CEO has been honored as a Environment + Energy Leader Top 100 Leader, Crain's Chicago Top 50 Sustainability Executive and named to the inaugural Forbes Next 1000 list.

The award honors the designers and businesses solving the most crucial problems of today and anticipating the pressing issues of tomorrow.

Mycocycle, Inc., a leader in using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste, was honored in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards for 2023 in the Small Business: Fewer Than 100 Employees category for their project titled “Biobased raw materials from waste.”

Mycocycle was recognized for their process that removes waste from the supply chain using mushrooms. As nature’s recyclers, fungi efficiently clean petrochemicals like those found in building materials, packaging and textiles. Harnessing this power uses landfilled construction waste to create new biobased raw material fillers for use into new building products--effectively removing waste from the construction supply chain to support circular solutions.

“It is an incredible honor for our remediation process to be recognized with an Innovation By Design Award,” stated Mycocycle CEO and Founder Joanne Rodriguez. “We are creating value streams from the output of our process while building strong, circular economies in the construction industry.”

The Innovation by Design Awards, which can be found in the September 2023 issue of Fast Company, is now in its 12th year and features a range of blue-chip companies, emerging startups and hungry young talents. It is one of the most sought-after design awards in the industry.

The judges include renowned designers from a variety of disciplines, business leaders from some of the most innovative companies in the world, and Fast Company’s own writers and editors. Entries are judged on the key ingredients of innovation: functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact and business impact.

About Mycocycle

Mycocycle, Inc. is a nature-inspired and woman-owned biotechnology startup that leverages fungi to transform industrial waste into reusable materials. Founded in 2018, the company is on a mission to drive circularity in the construction supply chain and divert waste from landfills with its innovative solution. Mycocycle blends lab-cultivated fungi with debris at the point of waste generation to detoxify hard-to-recycle building materials and turn them into new raw materials. Its customers include companies across the waste management, recycling and manufacturing industries, as well as companies focused on reducing Scope 3 emissions.

In 2023, Mycocycle was issued a Declare label for its "MycoFILL© G" materials through the International Living Futures Institute, which recognized its products as Red List Chemical Free. Mycocycle is a FastCompany World Changing Ideas finalist, and its CEO has been honored as a Environment + Energy Leader Top 100 Leader, Crain's Chicago Top 50 Sustainability Executive and named to the inaugural Forbes Next 1000 list. To learn more visit www.mycocycle.com.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.  

RE:TV highlights inspiring innovations and ideas that are emerging in response to the climate and biodiversity crisis.

Mycocycle, Inc., a leader in using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste was featured in an episode on RE:TV, an initiative founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2020 at the World Economic Forum (then HRH the Prince of Wales) to spotlight change makers around the world. The platform seeks innovations that are inspired by nature to address the challenges of the climate crisis.

Mycocycle’s process of using fungi to transform waste materials into a reusable resource captured the attention of RE:TV because of its ability to dramatically reduce the negative impact that the construction industry has on the environment. The resulting biomaterial that is produced is both fire- and water-resistant and can be used in the manufacture of many new products, including building materials, resulting in a true closed-loop ecosystem.

“The waste generated in the construction industry takes up space in landfills and can leach toxins into the air, water and soil,” Mycocyle CEO and Founder Joanne Rodriguez explained in the episode. “For every ton of waste that we treat, we are able to reduce CO2 emissions by almost three metric tons.” The Mycocycle spotlight can be watched on RE:TV’s website.

About Mycocycle

Mycocycle, Inc. is a nature-inspired and woman-owned biotechnology startup that leverages fungi to transform industrial waste into reusable materials. Founded in 2018, the company is on a mission to drive circularity in the construction supply chain and divert waste from landfills with its innovative solution. Mycocycle blends lab-cultivated fungi with debris at the point of waste generation to detoxify hard-to-recycle building materials and turn them into new raw materials. Its customers include companies across the waste management, recycling, and manufacturing industries, as well as companies focused on reducing Scope 3 emissions.

In 2023, Mycocycle was issued a Declare label for its "MycoFILL© G" materials through the International Living Futures Institute, which recognized its products as Red List Chemical Free. Mycocycle is a FastCompany World Changing Ideas finalist and its CEO has been honored as a Environment + Energy Leader Top 100 Leader, Crain's Chicago Top 50 Sustainability Executive and named to the inaugural Forbes Next 1000 list. To learn more visit www.mycocycle.com.

With $3.7M total raised to date, Mycocycle is expanding operational capabilities, validating the reuse of its biobased byproduct and growing its team.

Mycocycle, a nature-inspired biotechnology startup operating in the waste-to-value space, today announced it has raised a total of $2.2M in seed funding, bringing total funds raised to $3.7M. Led by Anthropocene Ventures, the seed funding round also includes investments from the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, Alumni Ventures and Telescopic Ventures, among others. The new capital enables Mycocycle to establish a model pilot facility, develop its first-generation decentralized treatment container, validate reuse of its biobased byproduct, and expand its team.

Waste mismanagement accounts for 20% of global methane emissions and 3.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As efforts to limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius increase, the waste sector reflects a key opportunity to make progress towards global emission reductions. In the U.S. alone, construction and demolition produce 660 million tons of waste annually, which is more than twice the amount of municipal solid waste produced per year. With landfills at 85% capacity and global construction on the rise, there is a need to divert waste within the construction industry and drive circularity, repurposing materials whenever possible. By 2030, the construction industry is projected to be more than twice the size it was in 2020, with a total addressable market of $14.4T. This growth trajectory underscores the urgency for scalable, circular, waste diverting solutions.

Mycocycle is addressing waste mismanagement by transforming industrial waste into new raw materials. Mycelium is a fungal root structure that is fire and water-resistant, insulative and lightweight, making it an ideal material for the manufacturing of acoustic tile, flooring, concrete, walls and insulation. Through their patent-pending technology, Mycocycle optimizes the natural functions of fungi to detoxify and transform waste within the built environment like asphalt shingles, insulation board, crumb rubber, gypsum drywall, fibers and other hard-to-recycle building materials. The trash Mycocycle treats contain petroleum-derived chemicals like heavy hydrocarbons or plasticizers which may leave a legacy of environmental contamination when burned or buried. The process efficiently neutralizes toxicity while transforming materials into a renewable, low-carbon, mycelium-based raw material. Mycocycle’s transformative process drives circularity in the construction supply chain, diverts waste from landfills and lessens the need to extract new virgin materials from nature.

“In the global race to decarbonize the economy and prevent the planet from warming at devastating levels, waste management cannot be overlooked, nor can the power of nature-based solutions to create a brighter, more sustainable future for all,” said Joanne Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Mycocycle. “The completion of this seed funding round underscores Mycocycle’s readiness to scale and become a leading provider of low-carbon waste management solutions that function in harmony with the natural world. We’re primed to leverage mushrooms, the planet’s recyclers, across the nation’s waste and building materials sectors to reduce emissions in two of the heaviest-polluting industries and transform waste to resources.”

The company’s patent-pending approach takes approximately two weeks to reduce toxins and create a harvestable raw material. Mycocycle kicks off its 3-step treatment at the point of waste generation on site with manufacturers or contractors, leveraging its containerized solution, MYCOntainer, to ensure toxic waste is processed in a climate-controlled environment. The three phase process starts with blending lab-cultivated fungi with ground waste materials, allowing it to incubate and grow over 7-14 days, where it is then harvested and processed into new low-carbon raw materials like fillers and fibers used within the building products industry. Mycocycle's solution is able to reduce the toxicity of materials by up to 98% on average. The global mycelium market is expected to reach $3.84 billion by 2026 and Mycocycle’s disruptive solution is positioned to create a new market of bio based raw materials out of waste for the building materials industry (>$1 trillion market globally).

“At Anthropocene Ventures, we invest in firms that bring our economy into alignment with the ecology of the planet. Mycocycle’s innovative, waste-diverting solution, reflects that commitment and demonstrates that a world with less landfills and more synergy with nature isn't just possible, it's profitable.” said Matt McGraw, General Partner at Anthropocene Ventures. “In the continued fight against climate change, we’re proud to support Mycocycle's journey as the company addresses an enormous opportunity for decarbonization and circularity within the waste management, construction and manufacturing industries.”

Since launching, Mycocycle has treated 12,000 pounds of material via paid pilots with customers across the waste management, recycling and manufacturing sectors, as well as with building owners and contractors like META and Lendlease who are focused on reduction of Scope 3 emissions and innovations within their industries. In 2022, Mycocycle was a participant of the World Economic Forum/Accenture “The Circulars” Accelerator as 1-of-17 companies worldwide and was awarded a two-year paid fellowship through the Department of Energy's Argonne National Labs Chain Reaction Innovations Entrepreneurship Program. Through this program, Mycocycle will advance large scale treatment solutions for rubber waste.

With this funding, Mycocycle will expand its team with five new roles, including vice president of research and innovation and vice president of operations and product development. The company also plans to establish a model pilot facility to expand operational capabilities and develop its first generation decentralized treatment container, MYCOntainer(C), which will increase Mycocycle’s capacity to serve customers beyond their worksites. Leveraging the new capital, Mycocycle anticipates validating its biobased byproduct by Q3 of 2023.

To learn more about Mycocycle’s mission, visit www.mycocycle.com.

About Mycocycle

Mycocycle, Inc. is a nature-inspired and woman-owned biotechnology startup that leverages fungi to transform industrial waste into reusable materials. Founded in 2018, the company is on a mission to drive circularity in the construction supply chain and divert waste from landfills with its innovative solution. Mycocycle blends lab-cultivated fungi with debris at the point of waste generation to detoxify hard-to-recycle building materials and turn them into new raw materials. Its customers include companies across the waste management, recycling and manufacturing industries, as well as companies focused on reducing Scope 3 emissions.

In 2023, Mycocycle was issued a Declare label for its "MycoFILL (c) G" materials through the International Living Futures Institute, which recognized its products as Red List Chemical Free. Mycocycle is recognized on the 2023 Diamond List and is a FastCompany World Changing Ideas finalist. Its CEO has been honored as a Environment + Energy Leader Top 100 Leader, Crain's Chicago Top 50 Sustainability Executive and named to the inaugural Forbes Next 1000 list. To learn more, visit www.mycocycle.com.

The member companies have come together to reinforce that Chicago is a welcoming city for all.

Mycocycle, Inc., a leader in using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste, announced that it has joined Chicago H1-B Connect, a coalition of Chicagoland companies who are willing to sponsor the H1-B visas for technology workers who have been displaced in the nationwide technology industry layoffs.

According to the website Layoffs.fyi, over 157,000 tech workers lost their jobs in 2022, and the tech layoff rate isn’t slowing down. Over 50,000 workers at U.S.-based tech companies have been laid off this year alone. When an H1-B technology worker loses their job, they are left with 60 days to find a new one and the company must be willing to sponsor their visa.

“We are proud to be a member of this coalition and demonstrate our commitment to support and attract H-1B visa holders to the Chicago area,” stated Joanne Rodriguez, Mycocycle founder and CEO. “For foreign workers on H-1B status, losing their job jeopardizes their ability to stay in the U.S. Being part of this program is a win for all parties involved as companies benefit from the skills these workers bring to our businesses and the workers benefit by being able to continue living and working in this country.”

About Mycocycle

Mycocycle, Inc. was founded in October 2018. It is a woman-owned, early stage cleantech company using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste. Mycocycle was one-of-seventeen companies worldwide selected to The Circulars Accelerator in 2022 through the World Economic Forum and Accenture, was the winner of the 2021 1871 Momentum Awards as an Industry Disrupter and Chicago Innovation “Up and Comer” Award, recognized as a Finalist in FastCompany's "2021 World Changing Ideas" Awards issue, recognized as a Forbes “Next1000” Entrepreneur and Energy+Environment Top 100 Leader, selected as a Top 100 Global Deeptech Pioneer by Hello Tomorrow, and a 2020 Innovation selection in the EPA's Innovation and America Recycle's Fair. For more information visit www.mycocycle.com.

About Chicago H-1B Connect

Led by P33 and World Business Chicago, the coalition brings together the city’s leading civic organizations including the Commercial Club of Chicago, 1871, the Executives' Club of Chicago, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Corporate Coalition of Chicago, and MATTER, along with Fortune 500 corporations and rapidly scaling, well-funded startups to help support and to retain highly skilled and valuable international talent. For more information, visit gotechchicago.com/h1b/

The company’s continued growth and success has created the need for leadership to focus on research, innovation, operations and product development.

Mycocycle, Inc., a leader in using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste, announced that it has hired Daniel Reyes as Vice President of Research and Innovation and Colin Litow as Vice President of Operations and Product Development. 

“I am very excited to have Daniel and Colin join us to lead our research and operations,” stated Joanne Rodriguez, Mycocycle founder and CEO. “The combination of Daniel’s research with Colin’s strong product development background will position Mycocycle for continued growth and success.” 

Reyes was most recently a consulting mycologist with Mycocycle for the last 18 months and has been integral to the development of the science behind the company’s processes to convert C&D waste into reusable materials. In his new role of Vice President of Innovation and Research, Reyes will be assuming the overarching research for Mycocycle U.S., Mexico and Poland. He will also oversee a project that will be housed in Poland advancing work with FieldTurf. 

Prior to Mycocycle, Reyes was a research scientist at Unidad de Química UNAM, co-founded the Central Texas Mycological Society and served as director of operations at Myco Alliance.  

Litow comes to Mycocycle from Continuus Materials, a circular waste-to-value manufacturer that uses paper and plastic waste to manufacture building products. He has a strong background in product and brand management, having launched several innovative products to market during his time at James Hardie Building Products and the Kraft Heinz Company. As Vice President of Product Development Litow will lead the rollout of Mycocycle’s solutions to the broader market. 

Reyes holds a B.S. degree in hydrogeology from the University of Texas at Austin and Litow earned a B.S. degree in civil engineering from Syracuse University, an M.S. in structural engineering from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A in marketing and strategy from the University of Michigan.  

About Mycocycle  

Mycocycle, Inc. was founded in October 2018. It is a woman-owned, early stage cleantech company using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste. Mycocycle was one-of-seventeen companies worldwide selected to The Circulars Accelerator in 2022 through the World Economic Forum and Accenture, was the winner of the 2021 1871 Momentum Awards as an Industry Disrupter and Chicago Innovation “Up and Comer” Award, recognized as a Finalist in FastCompany's "2021 World Changing Ideas" Awards issue, recognized as a Forbes “Next1000” Entrepreneur and Energy+Environment Top 100 Leader, selected as a Top 100 Global Deeptech Pioneer by Hello Tomorrow, and a 2020 Innovation selection in the EPA's Innovation and America Recycle's Fair. For more information visit www.mycocycle.com.  

Lendlease, Rubicon Technologies, Mycocycle and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions applied mycology to roofing shingles in what is believed to be a first-of-its kind sustainability study, emphasizing the importance of recycling, reuse and carbon reduction.

Lendlease, Rubicon Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: RBT), Mycocycle and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions, today announced the completion of a successfully partnered pilot involving used asphalt shingles, mushrooms and mycoremediation technology to reduce construction and demolition waste in order to produce a sustainable and reusable product to further create a more circular economy.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 11 to 13 million tons of asphalt shingles end up in landfills each year, where they take upwards of 300 years to break down. After seeing the large percentage of waste that was generated by used asphalt roofing shingles from a recent re-roofing project at their Fort Campbell Army installation in Kentucky, Lendlease, Rubicon, Mycocycle and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions proposed a solution to reuse the material in a new capacity.

“Every asphalt shingle from those 214 homes would have gone to a landfill,” said Sara Neff, head of sustainability at Lendlease Americas. “There was simply no viable use for them. We understand the importance of reducing our Scope 3 carbon by diverting waste streams from the landfill. After teaming up with Rubicon, Mycocycle and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions, we came up with an innovative idea using mycoremediation technology; combining mushrooms and shingles to break down waste materials and create a new by-product that could ideally be reintroduced for reuse, furthering a circular economy.”

Shingle samples were gathered and transported to Rockwood Sustainable Solutions’ facility in Lebanon, Tennessee where Mycocycle, an environmental remediation company that uses fungi to decarbonize waste streams, performed what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind pilot study, mixing the sample with three strains of fungi, a process called mycoremediation.

“The successful completion of this pilot is a fantastic example of environmental innovation in action,” said Nate Morris, chairman and CEO of Rubicon. “Rubicon’s mission is to end waste, and it is innovations such as these that find second life circular solutions for hard-to-recycle materials. Partnerships, like this one between Rubicon, Lendlease, Mycocycle and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions are possible when environmental innovation and the circular economy meet.”

“Using mycoremediation to process waste so as to be further recycled and form part of the circular economy is its highest use,” said Joanne Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Mycocycle. “Our mycelium recycling pilots continue to see excellent results among a wide range of materials, and I’m excited to see where our work, in partnership with Lendlease, Rubicon and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions, takes us.”

“This partnership has the potential to be a template for the future,” continued Neff. “Of those 11 to 13 million tons of asphalt shingles dumped in landfills each year, only 5-10 percent are being recycled. Taking a product that is no longer viable and combining it with a natural renewable source that results in a new product is a phenomenal outcome that is both beneficial to the environment and bolsters the economy. We are proud of this pilot and our future partnerships with Rubicon, Rockwood Sustainable Solutions and Mycocycle.”

Alexandra Ewing of Lendlease, Chris Batterson of Rubicon, Lincoln Young of Rockwood Sustainable Solutions, and Joanne Rodriguez of Mycocycle will be hosting a session on the results of this project, titled “Forging a Truly Circular Economy for Toxic C&D Materials,” at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo on Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.

Additionally, the team is looking to manufacturers across the building industry and encouraging them to continue to focus on the impact these new materials can have on reducing emissions while making our supply chain more sustainable.

About Lendlease

Lendlease (www.lendlease.com) is a leading global real estate and investment group with operations in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Our purpose is to create places where communities thrive. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, Lendlease has approximately 7,700 employees internationally. Our core capabilities are reflected in our operating segments of Development, Construction, and Investments. The combination of these three segments provides us with a sustainable competitive advantage and allows us to provide innovative integrated solutions for our customers.

About Rubicon

Rubicon Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: RBT) is a digital marketplace for waste and recycling, and provider of innovative software-based products for businesses and governments worldwide. Creating a new industry standard by using technology to drive environmental innovation, the company helps turn businesses into more sustainable enterprises, and neighborhoods into greener and smarter places to live and work. Rubicon’s mission is to end waste. It helps its partners find economic value in their waste streams and confidently execute on their sustainability goals. To learn more, visit www.Rubicon.com.

About Mycocycle

Mycocycle, Inc. (www.mycocycle.com) was founded in October 2018. It is a woman-owned, early stage cleantech company using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste. Mycocycle was one-of-seventeen companies worldwide selected to The Circulars Accelerator in 2022 through the World Economic Forum and Accenture, was the winner of the 2021 1871 Momentum Awards as an Industry Disrupter and Chicago Innovation “Up and Comer” Award, recognized as a Finalist in FastCompany's "2021 World Changing Ideas" Awards issue, recognized as a Forbes “Next1000” Entrepreneur and Energy+Environment Top 100 Leader, selected as a Top 100 Global Deeptech Pioneer by Hello Tomorrow, and a 2020 Innovation selection in the EPA's Innovation and America Recycle's Fair.

About Rockwood Sustainable Solutions

Rockwood Sustainable Solutions (www.rockwoodrecycling.com) was founded in 2014.  Rockwood began their operations in shingle recycling; collecting materials, processing, and utilizing the shingle in hot mix asphalt in Tennessee.  As the company progressed, they continued to grow through recycling additional construction products including wood, tires, and drywall.  Today, Rockwood is one of Tennessee’s largest construction recycling companies specializing in a variety of material recovery for various end markets.

Celebrating innovation in the Chicago region.

Mycocycle, Inc., a leader in using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste, joined fellow winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards, the Chicago region’s foremost annual celebration of innovation, in New York City on Friday, July 15 to ring the Closing Bell of the Nasdaq Stock Market. The event emphasized the surge of innovation that is occurring in the Chicago region and shined a spotlight on the organizations that make up its vibrant economy.

“Chicago Innovation Award winners cut across all industries and represent the best in new product and service development from large companies, startups and non-profits,” said Luke Tanen, President and CEO of Chicago Innovation. “Their winning innovations are solving a range of unmet needs in the marketplace, and we’re proud to celebrate their successes on a global stage by ringing the Nasdaq Bell.”

Joanne Rodriguez, Mycocycle CEO, said, “It was an honor to be able to participate in ringing the Closing Bell of the Nasdaq Stock Market alongside peer companies who are also creating innovative solutions in the Chicago area.”

Joining Mycocycle were other winners of the 2021 Chicago Innovation Awards. The full list of 2021 winners includes ADA Practice Transitions, ClearCover, Chicago Furniture Bank, Chicago Help Initiative, CoinFlip, Dental Smart Mirror, Equal Opportunity Book Box, Forty Acres Fresh Market, Halo Investing, Kranze Technology Solutions, Mycocycle, Nature’s Fynd, New Era ADR, OjaExpress, ReloShare, Rheaply, Songfinch, TechRise by P33, Tempus, TERA-print, and US Foods.

About Mycocycle

Mycocycle, Inc. was founded in October 2018. It is a woman-owned, early stage cleantech company using mycoremediation to process toxins out of waste. Mycocycle was one-of-seventeen companies worldwide selected to The Circulars Accelerator in 2022 through the World Economic Forum and Accenture, was selected as a 2022 Argonne National Labs’ Chain Reaction Innovations Cohort, was the winner of the 2021 1871 Momentum Awards as an Industry Disrupter and Chicago Innovation “Up and Comer” Award, recognized as a Finalist in FastCompany's "2021 World Changing Ideas" Awards issue, recognized as a Forbes “Next1000” Entrepreneur and Energy+Environment Top 100 Leader, selected as a Top 100 Global Deeptech Pioneer by Hello Tomorrow, and a 2020 Innovation selection in the EPA's Innovation and America Recycle's Fair. For more information visit www.mycocycle.com.

About Chicago Innovation Chicago Innovation, established in 2002, has grown from a single awards ceremony to a year-round series of events and programs to educate, connect and celebrate innovators in the Chicago region. Chicago Innovation’s vision is to solidify the Chicago region as a global leader in innovation and ensure

that innovation is for everyone. In addition to running the annual Chicago Innovation Awards to highlight the most innovative new products and services across industries in the Chicago region, the organization’s expansion has included:

• The Women Mentoring Co-op to support female innovators
• The Chicago Student Invention Convention to inspire innovation and creative problem-solving in Chicago’s K-8th grade students
• Ageless Innovators, an intergenerational co-mentoring program
• The Ladder to support Black and Latine innovators

For more information, visit www.chicagoinnovation.com.