Seeds Instead of Coffins?
An Italian firm, Capsula Mundi, wants to replace traditional caskets with organic burial pods. Creators, Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel, want to replace rows of cold tombstones with a forest of vibrant trees.
How Does it Work?
The capsule is an egg shaped casket made from biodegradable starch-plastic, where the deceased is placed in the fetal position inside. The capsule is then placed in the ground like a seed, and a tree is planted on top. As the tree’s roots embrace the egg, the body provides nutrients for the tree to grow.
“The tree can chosen when the person is alive, relatives and friends look after it after their loved one dies.” -Anna & Raoul
What about regular coffins?
The typical coffin is only really used for three days, but the tree used to produce one can take 30-40 years to mature.
“The tree can instead serve as an organic monument that their offspring and loved ones can spend a lifetime caring for.”
A Sustainable Alternative
Advocates of eco-burials argue that modern burial practices are wasteful, and can even be toxic. Preservatives, like formaldehyde, are used for funerals, but are then left in the body, killing important microbes that aid decomposition.
Yearly Resource Cost of Burials in the US:
- 70 Million cubic-feet of hardwood
- 2 Billion pounds of steel
- 5.4 Million pounds of copper and bronze
- 3.2 Billion pounds of concrete
- 800 Thousand gallons of embalming fluid
But is it legal?
Instead of cutting flowers for a grave, a cherry or magnolia tree could provide a canopy of blossoms. Their project is currently on hold, as Italian law currently forbids “natural burial” practices.
Eco-burial however, has become a growing industry in the US, with select cemeteries accommodating sustainable burial practices.
i think this is a beautiful idea..i would like to be buried this way
I was always against being buried how ever this makes me change my mind
This is what I want for myself. I think there’s no better ideal than to be returned to the earth.
I would like that..I personally wanted to be donated to science cause maybe could answer aquestion why I got breast cancer and could I save just one person with the results..or could one of my other organs help someone
[…] lot of people know what they want to happen to their body after they die. Some might want to be turned into a tree. Or maybe you want to join a sprawling necropolis. Whatever the case, a lot of people find comfort […]