Living coffin developed by Dutch start-up, body composts more efficiently

A student start-up Loop has developed a coffin made from mycelium that helps the body "compost more efficiently" and removes toxic substances producing richer conditions for new trees and plants to grow. The 'Living Cocoon' developed by students at Delft University Of Technology, Netherlands will help the body compost more quickly because it actively contributes to the composting process. 

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The new form of burial is ready to be applied in practice as it has been tested in collaboration with two major funeral cooperatives CUVO (The Hague) and De Laatste Eer (Delft). The start-up claims that the coffin not only contributes to the composting process but also improves the quality of soil around it using mycelium, which normally grows underground in the complex root structure of trees, plants, and fungi. 

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Pollutionless

"The Living Cocoon enables people to become one with nature again and to enrich the soil, instead of polluting it. The speed at which a body composts generally depends on various conditions, but experience shows that it can take over a decade. The varnished and metal parts of a coffin, as well as synthetic clothing, can persist for even longer. Loop expects that their coffin will be able to complete this entire process in two to three years because it actively contributes to the composting process," said Bob Hendrikx, founder of Loop, in a release on Delft University's website.

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"As a regional funeral organization, 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," said Frank Franse, director of CUVO and De Laatste Eer. The first batch of ten coffins is now ready for use. CUVO even completed the first funeral with this coffin last week. 

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