キノコ製の「生きているひつぎ」、死後も地球に優しく　オランダ

【デルフトＡＦＰ＝時事】オランダで、キノコ製の「生きているひつぎ」が作られた。通常のひつぎに比べて、遺体の分解が速いという。発案者は、死後も地球に優しくできる選択肢だとしている。（写真はキノコ製のひつぎ「リビング・コクーン」。ループ提供）
　「生きている繭」を意味する「リビング・コクーン」と名付けられたこのひつぎのアイデアを思い付いたのは、デルフト工科大学の研究室で学んでいたボブ・ヘンドリックスさん。
　ヘンドリックスさんは、キノコの根に当たる菌糸体が遺体を分解し、土を豊かにするこのひつぎは、世界初の「生きているひつぎ」だとしている。
　１２日にはオランダ国内で初めて、８２歳で亡くなった女性の永眠の場所としてこのひつぎが用いられ、「生命の循環へと戻っていった」と明かした。
　遺体はコケの床の上に安置され、多様な虫など土の生物と共にとどまる。
　金属のハンドルが取り付けられ、ニスを塗って仕上げた従来の木棺の場合、遺体の分解には１０年以上かかるとされる。この新しいひつぎの中では、遺体は２～３年以内に分解され、またひつぎそのものも３０～４５日でなくなるという。
　キノコ製のひつぎは非常に軽く、現時点では約１５００ユーロ（約１８万６０００円）と通常のひつぎよりも安い。大きさと形は一般的なものと変わらないが、色は菌糸体特有の白っぽい色をしている。
　ヘンドリックスさんは、キノコのひつぎを作るにはさまざまな工程が必要になると説明している。まず森からコケを採取し、次にキノコから菌糸体を抽出。その菌糸体を木くずと混ぜて型に入れると、７日で固まるという。
　ヘンドリックスさんは「ループ」という社名で起業し、葬儀場と契約を結んだ。ソーシャルメディア上でも話題になっているという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/09/18-13:16）

In the Netherlands you can keep helping the planet after you die -- by opting for a living coffin made of mushrooms which speeds up the decomposition of your body.
The coffin turns corpses into compost that enriches the soil thanks to mycelium, the root structure of fungi.
The Living Cocoon is a world first, according to Bob Hendrikx, who invented the idea in his student laboratory at Delft Technical University.
This is the world's first living coffin, and actually last Saturday the first human being in the Netherlands was composted and returned into the cycle of life, he told AFP.
The coffin was the final resting place for an 82-year-old woman, whose body will decompose within two to three years.
If a traditional coffin with varnished wood and metal handles is used, the process normally takes more than ten years.
The casket itself will meanwhile disappear within 30 to 45 days.
It's actually an organism, so it's made from mycelium which is the root structure of mushrooms, Hendrikx said. They're the biggest recyclers in nature.
This is the most natural way to do it... we no longer pollute the environment with toxins in our body and all the stuff that goes into the coffins but actually try to enrich it and really be compost for nature.
- 'Big hit' -
The coffin is the same size and shape as a classic coffin but its pale colour is typical of mycelium.
Inside is a bed of moss where the body -- and various insects and other soil creatures -- will lie.
Overall the coffin is much lighter than a wooden casket. It's also cheaper, currently costing around 1,500 euros.
Making the coffins requires a bit of foraging, first for moss from the forest, then collecting mycelium from mushrooms, and then mixing that with woodchips.
Slowly in seven days, it's actually pretty fast, it will grow into a solid material that is actually an organism, said Hendrikx.
Afterwards it's naturally dried by literally removing the mould and just letting it be. So then the mycelium, the organism, becomes inactive.
When it's in the ground, it starts to get activated again when a lot of moisture hits the organism. Then it starts the decomposition process.
Hendrikx's inspiration didn't stem from a ghoulish fascination with bodies or human compost, but from serendipity.
Fascinated by the applications of mushrooms, he first tried to make a living house for his thesis.
But when someone asked what would happen with the body of his grandmother if he left her inside the house, Hendrikx had a brainwave.
That has now become a start-up, called Loop, which has signed a deal with a funeral home, while also causing a stir on social media.
Looking at the reactions we had online, we're pretty sure it's going to be a big hit, he said.