Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are cardboard coffins legal in Australia?
Cardboard coffins are legal and accepted throughout Australia.
All Leaving Lightly coffins meet all of the requirements of the Australian funeral industry.
2. Where can I buy a Leaving Lightly coffin?
We recommend that you purchase your Leaving Lightly coffin through your chosen funeral director. Be sure to insist on a Leaving Lightly coffin.
3. How much does a Leaving Lightly coffin cost?
We recommend that you approach your preferred funeral director for a quote. Our desire is to provide a superior product at an affordable price.
4. Does the coffin come complete, or do I have to purchase parts or optional extras?
Every Leaving Lightly coffin comes complete with linings, handles, pillow, escutcheons, lid retaining screws and simple instructions for the attachment of the handles. Attachment of the handles is a part of the service offered by your funeral director.
5. What makes Leaving Lightly coffins different to other cardboard coffins?
In addition to their excellent finish and craftsmanship, Leaving Lightly coffins have been weight tested to a breaking point of over 800 kilograms and the handles have been tested to a breaking point of 240 kilograms. They have been popular in the U.K. and Canada for over five years.
6. Are Leaving Lightly coffins more suited to burial or cremation?
They are perfectly suitable for both applications. When used for cremation, Leaving Lightly coffins require less energy to burn and at the same time produce far less toxic waste than chipboard coffins. In the case of burial, Leaving Lightly coffins break down far more quickly, hastening the return of our human elements to the earth.
7. What will happen to a cardboard coffin if it rains?
The plain cardboard coffins may show water droplets for a brief time only, while the veneered caskets are unaffected as the droplets can be wiped off.
8. Aren’t trees used to make cardboard?
Leaving Lightly coffins are made from 100% recycled post-consumer cardboard.
9. What is used to make recycled cardboard?
Recycled cardboard is made from unbleached cardboard, not timber pulp, newspaper, glossy packaging or plasticised waste. The transition from post-consumer cardboard to "recycled cardboard" is efficient and as eco-friendly as possible.
10. What is the difference between recycled cardboard and chipboard coffins when buried or cremated?
MDF or chipboard is comprised of woodchip and glue, with a density that creates a coffin weighing four to five times that of a recycled cardboard coffin. The amount of carbon and toxic waste is also far higher.
11. How are Leaving Lightly cardboard coffins constructed?
They are constructed with a sandwich of honeycombed cardboard similar to the method of constructing an internal door. This creates an extremely light but very strong coffin using minimal amounts of environmentally sound water-based glues.
12. Are any forests destroyed to create the timber veneer?
The timber veneer used on the ‘wood look’ coffins is made from plantation timber only.
13. Can I decorate the coffin myself?
Yes, the plain Leaving Lightly cardboard coffins are eminently suitable for decorating with your own drawings, paintings, photographs and messages.
