First funeral held using fast-composting ‘living coffin’ made of mushroom fibre

TU Delft researcher Bob Hendrikx and the first batch of living coffins
Loop
April Roach @aprilroach2815 September 2020

A person has been buried for the first time in a "living coffin" made out of fast-composting materials in the Netherlands.

After months of testing, the funeral took place on Saturday with a coffin made out of mycelium - a mat of fibres that forms the underground part of fungi.

TU Delft researcher Bob Hendrikx designed the Living Cocoon with the aim of creating an eco-friendly coffin that would help the body to compost more efficiently and produce richer conditions in the surrounding soil for new trees and plants to grow.

"After months of development, it was a really impressive moment to be finally able to mark someone's passing in this extraordinary way," said Mr Hendrikx, the founder of Loop, the start-up producing the Living Cocoon.

Funeral cooperatives CUVO and De Laatste Eer collaborated with Loop to create the first limited batch of ten Living Cocoons, one of which was used for the funeral.

TU Delft researcher Bob Hendrikx designed the living coffin using mycelium
Loop

Mr Hendrikx told the Metro newspaper: “I didn’t actually go, but I talked to a relative beforehand – it was a moving moment, we discussed the cycle of life.

“He had lost his mother, but he was happy because thanks to this box, she will return to nature and will soon be living like a tree. It was a hopeful conversation.”

Each coffin takes about several weeks to form and they currently cost about €1,250 (£1,150).

The mycelium mat grows in the shape of a coffin and is then allowed to dry naturally
Loop

The mycelium is a living organism that can neutralise toxic substance and provide nutrition to plants that grow aboveground.

Mr Hendrikx who described mycelium as "nature's recycler", said: "It's constantly looking for waste materials to convert into nutrients for the environment.

"It does the same with toxic substances, including oil, plastic and metal. For example, mycelium was used in Chernobyl, is utilised in Rotterdam to clean up soil and some farmers also apply it to make the land healthy again."

Loop started off with a limited batch of 10 coffins
Loop

The start-up explained that the speed at which a body composts depends on various conditions, but experience shows it can take over a decade.

Loop expects that its coffins can complete the entire composting process in two to three years because the mycelium actively contributes to the composting process.

The researchers from Loop will join forces with Naturalis to conduct further studies into how the eco-friendly form of burial can actively increase biodiversity.

"We want to know exactly what contribution it makes to the soil as this will help us to convince local municipalities in the future to transform polluted areas into healthy woodland, using our bodies as nutrients," said Mr Hendrikx.

Frank Franse, director of CUVO and De Laatste Eer, added: "As a regional funeral home, we think it is important to be involved in sustainable innovation like this.

"It fits our objective to be a sustainable co-operative funeral service."

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