Dutch inventor Bob Hendrikx is thinking outside the box when it comes to burial options.
The 32-year-old is the founder of Loop Biotech, a company that produces biodegradable mushroom coffins. They’re being billed as “living coffins” - an environmentally friendly alternative to their wooden counterparts that help fertilize soil as they decompose.
The coffins are made of upcycled hemp fibres and mycelium, which is the root structure of mushrooms. Unlike their wooden counterparts, which take 10 to 50 years to decay, the mushroom coffins biodegrade in the earth within weeks.
“If you put (the mushroom coffin) in the soil, it’s decaying in 45 days compared to decades,” he told CTV Your Morning on Thursday. “The material itself is soil enriching, so we are literally feeding the earth by using this product.”
Even the production cycle is more environmentally friendly since it’s growing agricultural waste, rather than cutting down trees for wooden coffins, Hendrikx said.
How the remains are prepared is up to the family and funeral directors to decide. However, Hendrikx said it would be best to keep things as natural as possible “so the body has the best ability to go back into the cycle of life.”
While cardboard coffins are currently available in Canada, Hendrikx said they don’t “really add value to the soil” like the mushroom coffins do.
“If you put cardboard in your garden, nothing is going to grow extra from it,” he said. “If you put this in your soil, it’s going to help fertilize a lot more.”
A graduation project turns to international demand
What started as Hendrikx’s school graduation project five years ago – which he received perfect marks on - has become an overwhelmingly popular product internationally. It also helped that he went on the Dutch version of the TV show Shark Tank, where he was able to find “very nice people who are willing to support the mission.”
“We’ve had the privilege of helping thousands of families across Europe, Canada, U.S., and in Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
He added that the price of the coffin ranges, depending on what funeral directors are providing for the service, but they’re comparable to traditional coffins.
“In terms of pricing, there’s no reason not to choose this option,” Hendrikx said. “We really empower a lot of families out there to continue to live on their values that they appreciate now.”
