It depends. Some cardboard coffins range in price similar to Australian-made MDF coffins.
And some better quality cardboard coffins are comparable in price to Australian-made solid timber coffins.
Choosing The Right Coffin Or Casket > Timber & Cardboard Coffins
In the wood panels sector, we’re off to a good start – as wood from managed forests is a significant carbon sink, and wood products require less energy to produce than many other materials.
- Dr Alan Halligan
Australian Wood Panels Association
Timber & MDF Coffins
Timber and Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) caskets and coffins are often produced from plantation pine timber which is a renewable resource, from a sustainable industry.
Australia’s forest management is among the best in the world in terms of conservation reserves and codes of practice for production forests.
Only a small percentage of Australia’s 147 million hectares of native forests is public forest potentially available for timber harvesting.
Timber is only harvested from a small percentage of these public native forests each year.
MDF is made by pulping plantation pine down to a fibre and compacting it with heat and glue in specialised machines.
This process creates strong, flat boards.
Once these boards are produced, a simulated wood grain paper veneer is glued to the surface to represent a specific timber species.
Timber and MDF caskets and coffins may require less chemicals, glues, energy and water to produce, than some cardboard coffins.
Here Are Some Things To Consider
- Both MDF and cardboard are made from wood fibres (same origin).
- MDF can be denser and stronger than cardboard which makes MDF coffins more durable for manual handling and transportation.
- MDF can be more resistant to moisture penetration than cardboard.
- MDF coffin lids may be less prone to crushing during backfill following a burial.
- MDF coffins are suitable for cremation and burial and have been used for decades for coffin manufacture.