Living coffin could be good for environment as it turns bodies into compost

THE phrase ashes to ashes, may soon become a thing of the past as a Dutch student has created the Loop Living Cocoon which is a coffin made from the roots of fungi which will decompose the body and return nutrients to the earth.

As green funerals become more popular and the price of traditional coffins continue to rise, Bob Hendrix has created this living coffin which whilst strong enough to contain a body, will, when placed in wet ground break down a human body in, he believes, no more than two years.

One woman has already accepted the challenge of becoming ‘human compost’ and has been buried accordingly with a further nine test burials to come as funeral parlours are interest in offering this option which currently costs €1,495 to purchase from Hendrix.

He has 100 coffins produced for sale and believes that this is a viable way of transforming landfill into usable greenbelt land.