Woman laid to rest in coffin made from mushrooms in Australian first
A woman in her 70s has become the first person in Australia to be buried in a coffin grown from mushrooms, in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of her funeral. Carolyn was laid to rest on Friday at Springwood Cemetery in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, using a casket made by Dutch firm Loop Biotech from mycelium (fungal root networks) and hemp fibres, which her husband David said reflected her lifelong instinct to help others and give back to nature.
The coffin is grown in a mould inside a climate-controlled room over about a week, weighs roughly 30kg, and breaks down within 45 days of burial, compared with up to 50 years for a traditional wooden casket, enriching the soil as it decomposes. Loop Biotech's founder said thousands of the coffins have already been used across Europe and the US, and cultural anthropologist Dr Hannah Gould linked the growing interest in such "eco-deaths" to declining religiosity and a rising trend of Australians planning funerals differently after experiencing unsatisfactory ones for family members. The article also notes that while about 70% of Australians opt for cremation, which emits roughly 125kg of CO2 per body, alternatives such as alkaline hydrolysis and cardboard natural burials (emitting under 10kg of CO2 equivalent) are becoming more available.
In short
- Australia's first mushroom coffin burial took place in NSW's Blue Mountains.
- Mycelium-hemp casket biodegrades in 45 days, enriching soil.
- Reflects rising interest in eco-friendly, less religious funeral choices.
Explained simply
Funerals can have environmental effects through the materials used and the way a body is buried or cremated. In Australia, cremation is the most common choice, while natural burials and other lower-impact options are also becoming available.
Mycelium is the network of fine threads that forms the main part of a fungus. Some funeral providers combine it with materials such as hemp to make coffins designed to break down in the soil; other alternatives include cardboard coffins and alkaline hydrolysis, which uses water and chemicals to reduce the body.
People choose funeral arrangements for personal, cultural and practical reasons, and some are looking for options that reflect their values or experiences with family funerals. These choices matter because burial and cremation methods differ in the resources they use and the emissions they produce.
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