Coffins made of mushrooms sprout among eco-friendly burial options in Ontario

As more people worry about their environmental footprint in both life and death, one cemetery operator is offering a unique alternative – coffins and urns made of mushrooms.

As more people worry about their environmental footprint in both life and death, one cemetery operator is offering a unique alternative to traditional burials – coffins and urns made of mushrooms.

Mount Pleasant Group, which provides funeral and cremation services in the Greater Toronto Area, says the fully biodegradable products from Dutch company Loop Biotech represent “a new era” in sustainable burials.

“It’s produced within seven days and it’s a product that is environmentally friendly, it’s totally 100 per cent natural,” said Angie Aquino, the company’s president of funeral services.

She said no wood, metals or chemicals are used to make the coffin named Living Cocoon or the urn called EarthRise, and “significantly less energy” is used in the production process.

The products are made of only two natural ingredients: mushroom roots known as mycelium and hemp fibres, Aquino said.

“They’re blended together, and they’re placed into a mould, and that mould over a seven-day period will become firm and sturdy, and it then creates this,” she said in a phone interview.

Aquino said the mushroom casket biodegrades within 45 days of burial in ideal weather conditions and it can also be used in cremation.

Mount Pleasant Group says its consumer research has found that 50 per cent of people want eco-friendly funeral products, and 65 per cent believe funeral homes should offer those options to their clients.