The green revolution is something that is here to stay. It affects all sectors, even the most unexpected, such as funeral homes. For some time, the existence of ecological cardboard coffins has been known -which are used for both burials and cremations- which are much more respectful of the environment as they are less polluting for both the soil and the air. But the industry does not stop innovating and going further, to the point that a company in the Netherlands offers coffins made from mushrooms. To be precise, rather than manufactured, these coffins are “grown†by mixing the root structure of the fungi (mycelium) together with recycled hemp fiber.
Company managers, named Loop Biotech, explained to La Vanguardia that “the product decomposes in the right conditions in 45 days”, the decomposition of the deceased’s body also being faster. “It takes two or three years, much less than what happens with conventional coffins, where it can take between 10 and 20 years,†says Bob Hendrikx, founder of the company.
He assures that it is “the first living coffin in the world that enriches nature by biodegrading in just 45 days and returning human nutrients in the most natural way.” Currently, the company has the capacity to manufacture 500 coffins or urns (also biodegradable) per month. Each of them weighs about 30 kilos and is capable of supporting up to 200 kg.
The product, which costs 995 euros (a conventional coffin has an average price of about 1,200 euros, according to a study by the OCU) “is legal for traditional burials, cremation and natural burials,” says Hendrikx, 29. . Indeed, it is ideal for so-called natural or green burials, where the bodies are buried less than a meter deep to facilitate their decomposition in a completely biodegradable coffin, such as this coffin made from mushrooms.
The cemeteries that accommodate this type of burial – also called natural or green – are not abundant in Spain, a country where Loop Biotech admits that it has not invoiced any order yet. Its clients are more concentrated in places like Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom or Australia, territories where this type of enclosure and new funeral culture is more present.
However, in Spain it is possible to find some. Without going any further, in the Collserola mountain range (Barcelona), specifically in the municipality of El Papiol. The Roques Blanques regional cemetery is located there, managed by the Ãltima funeral group. His CEO, Joan Ventura, argues that these biodegradable coffins are not yet widely accepted. “Not in the Netherlands either,” he asserts. Families – he relates – “do not like the idea that the bodies of their deceased degradeâ€: “They are reluctant. It takes time”.
They use, he explains, ecological coffins, “that is, made of wood from controlled felling, that do not contain varnishes or chemical elements that could contaminate when incinerating or burying.”
Not of the same opinion is Javier Ferrándiz, founder of RestGreen, a Spanish company based in Madrid that for years has been manufacturing biodegradable cardboard coffins. “Since we appeared we have not stopped receiving emails from families who want the coffin.” The problem, he argues, is that the sector “does not really want” to see them in the market. The reason? The price of their coffins, he asserts: 350 euros.
Although his coffins are designed to decompose underground, he says that they are widely used for cremations- “in Spain, a high percentage of burials, much higher than 50%, already corresponds to cremations”, he argues- because the residue they generate “is almost zeroâ€: “We are the most ecologicalâ€.
He is hopeful that the announcement made months ago by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, in which he expressed the idea that the deceased’s suits would have to be made of natural fibers for cremation and the coffin of cardboard. “In Europe it has been done for years, and what we are waiting for is that the law changes here, that we are a little more ecological.”
Beyond ecological or biodegradable coffins, what the Ãltima group does use are urns for the ashes that degrade and are made of clay. Ventura explains that 15 years ago they decided to start burying them at the foot of the trees and that “it was a resounding success.” He acknowledges that although this formula did not exist in Spain, in other countries -such as the Nordics or the Anglo-Saxons (United States and Canada)- they did put it into practice. He assures that since then they have planted 3,000 native trees in which they place both individual and family graves, with capacity for four or five urns.
Hendrikx is also very much in favor of burying the urn at the foot of a young tree that is just beginning to grow. And he defends it from a more philosophical point of view. “Instead of dying, ending up in the ground and that’s it, now there’s a new story. We can enrich the afterlife and continue to thrive as a new plant or tree.”
A green burial -Joan Ventura maintains- has a cost “similar” to that of a conventional one, which can exceed 3,700 euros (slightly less if cremation is chosen), according to the OCU study. “Yes, we would be talking about those figures,” he concludes.
