He was buried in a mushroom casket. Soon he’ll be part of the soil

He was buried in a mushroom casket. Soon he’ll be part of the soil

When Marsya Ancker-Robert was younger, her father used to tell that her that he wanted to be buried naked, under a tree in the woods. The idea horrified Ancker-Robert, but when her father passed away earlier this June, the first call she made was to a Dutch company called Loop Biotech. Since 2020, Loop Biotech has been making biodegradable caskets out of mycelium, the root-like structure of mushrooms, and hemp. Unlike traditional wooden caskets,…

First-Ever Mushroom Casket Burial in North America Could Signal Cultural Shift Toward More Planet-Friendly Traditions

With all the chemicals, wood and land used in traditional burials, they can be detrimental to the environment. Now, a company from the Netherlands has developed a casket made entirely of mycelium — the network of thread-like structures that make up mushroom roots — that biodegrades within 45 days of burial. The innovative Loop Living Cocoon mushroom casket is grown in one week and enriches the soil while nourishing new plant life. Loop Biotech R…