In Pennsylvania, a mushroom farm exec’s personal loss has inspired a new offering in environmentally friendly burials: biodegradable, fungi caskets.
Max Justice, chairman of Greencastle’s Setas Mushrooms told local news Fox43 the idea came while he was sadly making funeral arrangements for his younger sister. Justice said he was troubled by cremation’s large environmental footprint and knew his sister would not want her last impact on the Earth to be so negative.
While researching alternatives, he stumbled upon Loop, a Dutch biodegradable coffin company, and set out to do something similar. After some trial and error, he reports that Setas has developed a mushroom coffin that can decompose a body in two years. The end-of-life option will also be cost-effective. “My most expensive coffin will be $995 and I want to get it even lower,” he added. Setas is now refining the process, working on desired shapes, and will soon acquire a custom oven to help with production.