End of Life - Environmentally Friendly Eco Burials

With the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu a champion and activist for the environment, his last of selflessness was to be cremated by Alkaline hydrolysis or Aquamation a process based on alkaline hydrolysis: the body is placed in a pressure vessel that is then filled with a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide, and heated to a temperature around 160 °C (320 °F) and 75 psi. This high pressure and temperature “cooking” speeds up the natural process of decomposition and breaks down the body into its chemical components, which takes approximately four to six hours. This alkaline hydrolysis process has been championed by a number of ecological campaigning groups, for using 90 kWh of electricity, one-quarter the energy of flame-based cremation and producing less carbon dioxide and pollutants. It is being presented as one alternative option among many others methods.

As more awareness of the effects of climate change rear its ugly head, people have been looking at ways to leave as small of a carbon footprint once our time comes. At Shroom Stop we’ve been asked about the possibilities of Mycelium, Egg or Mushroom Burials and if we will ever see the technology developed. This technology would prove to be the best method of burial as the energy used to create “You” would be recaptured and returned directly to the environment. I think the future of burials will move towards lush forests full of life vs tombstones burials as land is inelastic and a finite resource, lastly the cost of coffins, cremation, or even aquamation are quite high. Biodegradable mycelium coffins can be made inexpensively and would not require input of energy or fossil fuels to make.

Currently, We’ve been focusing and conducting R&D on utilizing Pre-Consumer Food Waste it is in the works in the possibilities of incorporating other means of “food” for Fungi/mycelium. I don’t want to provide too much intellectual property as it is proprietary to us. What I can share, is we’ve been focusing hard on areas were we can make the biggest change first and have secondary knock on effects from the development of the technology. As an Chemical and Biological Engineer I find joy and passion in streamlining and optimizing processes by identifying synergies and areas where “short-cuts” can be made. The applications of our Technology provide numerous synergies as we will be able to provide cost effective methods to combat many environmental issues that plague our world today.

I am quite passionate about where our technology will take us and how my brother and I can develop a product that engages consumers to be able to have a positive impact on the world.

Mush Love!