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Green burials: new techniques for an environmentally sustainable future

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capsula mundi sepoltura green

Green burials: new techniques for an environmentally sustainable future

Green burial: a funeral option that aims to reduce the environmental impact caused by burial. It is a solution that uses natural and biodegradable methods and materials. It is an environmentally friendly choice that has become increasingly popular abroad.

In Italy, legislation on burial is decades old, but there is increasing interest in eco-sustainable options that are tried and tested in other countries.

To find out more, we interviewed architects Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel, who designed and produce Capsula Mundi.

As they write on their website: ‘Capsula Mundi is a cultural proposal for a different approach to the theme of death. It is a container with an archaic and perfect shape, that of the egg, made of a biodegradable material. The Capsule is planted like a seed in the earth. A tree is planted, chosen by the deceased while still alive and cared for by family and friends, as a legacy for posterity and the future of the planet. Cemeteries would thus take on a new appearance: no longer grey tombstones but living trees forming a forest, a ‘sacred wood’.

Can you tell us about your idea, since Capsula Mundi is an Italian design, a declared Made in Italy?

The project was born in Milan for the Salone del Mobile. We presented for the first time a large egg that looked like it was made of earth with a tree on top. A very attractive object that somehow deceived as to its real function, especially in that context: a coffin. It was in fact a representation of the concept of our project, Capsula Mundi: an egg-shaped coffin made of a biodegradable material so as not to impede the natural transformations in the soil that lead to the mineralization of our bodies. Remember that minerals are nourishment for the plant world, hence the tree, which, according to the project, was to be chosen by the person when they are still alive and then planted by friends or relatives above the capsule, to mark the physical burial place and physically represent the biological cycle of transformations.

In this way, the cemetery would also take on a different appearance: instead of an area of tombstones and chapels, a forest, a special forest because it has many different species of trees and a strong emotional significance for the population.

Later, we promoted, through Capsula Mundi exhibitions or interviews, a change in approach, whereby we, as designers, argued for the possibility that after death the biological cycle of transformations of the body should not be prevented, inspired by what happens in other countries where natural burials are permitted by law

After many years of this activity, driven also by requests from our ‘fans’, i.e. the people who follow our project, we created the biodegradable urn Capsula Mundi, to house ashes or cremation remains, again with the concept of the tree as a living testimonial of the person who died. In Italy, in fact, it is not possible to make a Capsula for the body, because the legislation does not allow it. 

The urn is in production and is on sale on our website.

They are beautiful. Italian law provides for the dispersal of ashes in nature if the family requests it, so, if we are not mistaken, your egg is considered 'dispersal in nature'?

Yes, exactly. Biodegradable urns are assimilated to the scattering of ashes. Unfortunately, this assimilation is not always adopted by all municipalities. It is an ongoing process, there is legislation, but not all municipalities accept it. However, the vast majority of municipalities accept the scattering of ashes according to the national legislation.

Capsula mundi-sepoltura verde green burials
photo credits: Francesco D'Angelo

However, if the family declares they are going to disperse the ashes when they apply to the crematorium and they take the urn away, then in their garden, for example, they can use your Capsula Mundi, right? They don't have to declare where they are going to scatter the ashes. They only have to declare their choice to scatter the ashes and then follow the regulations (see the law in the note).

Yes, the choice can be made either with a handwritten will or in some municipalities, where it is accepted declared by the next of kin. Our biodegradable urns are buried and this is allowed because it is considered equivalent to scattering. The problem with the Capsula Mundi project is burial, because in Italy natural burial (in the ground) is against the law.

Yes, we understood that. So, the small urn for the ashes was a second step from your fascinating original idea of a giant egg for a body in a fetal position?

The presentation of Capsula Mundi took place with the large egg, for the body -as we have said- but the biodegradable urn was already part of our project. We had to start with the urn because in Italy legislation does not provide for the use of materials other than wood for direct burial in the ground. We do not agree with using wood because we think that trees should be planted, not cut down to build a coffin that is normally used for a few days and made of precious materials, using 40 to 50-year-old trees.

However, it is an interesting step, also considering the large number of people who now choose cremation. In the big cities, we are now on the threshold of 70 to 80 per cent. I think the urn is also a bit easier to handle, let's say, than a body?

Certainly, it is easier and less expensive, plus the ashes are the responsibility of the relatives. Or maybe for those who have a place in the countryside or a place they love, it means being able choose a place that has a special meaning for the family, for the deceased. There is also the fact that you can choose a tree that suits the place.

Do ashes or cremation remains pollute the ground?

No, they don’t. Cremation remains have a high PH. Let’s say, they are potentially unsuitable for tree roots. Because they have a high PH, they have a lot of sodium. After a lot of research, we have found a material that breaks down very slowly in the soil, starting with small cracks, and with time, the soil -which is a powerful buffering solution- manages to bring the pH back to neutral, making it harmless for the roots.

Are your urns on sale in Italy?

Through our website (Capsula Mundi). Of course, our main market is abroad, but we also sell here to funeral agencies and private individuals.

We wanted to ask how a private individual would proceed: if you decide to choose this solution for your biodegradable urn, how do you go about it? You would order the urn on your site and receive it at home. But what about the tree?

No, it says on the site that the tree must be purchased separately. The family does everything independently, of course, whereas if the funeral home does it, they very often make arrangements with nurseries that can provide the tree and also provide the service of digging the ground and planting the urn and tree together.

It would be wonderful to create a ceremony for the planting. We have done ceremonies for scattering ashes at sea and in an olive grove, but planting a tree on top of a biodegradable urn created especially for that purpose would be a very meaningful moment for a ceremony.

1.celebranti.com-CommemorazioneFunebre-Funeral-Ceneri-Credit-SimonaFilippini
photo credits: Simona Filippini

Even when scattering cremation remains without an urn, however, the soil balances the PH well and tree roots are smart enough to go where they feel the soil welcomes them. But the ritual of planting a tree to remember the deceased is more poetic and profound.

Have you tried a path of contact with institutions, i.e., municipalities, individual cities?

Some municipalities have contacted us. One of the most important has been the municipality of Bologna, which is planning an extension of their cemetery.

Can we imagine 'hybrid' cemeteries in the future here in Italy, like in the US or in the UK, i.e. with a traditional built-up section and a natural burial section for this kind of green burial?

In Bologna, they were talking about redesigning the historical cemetery they had, so within their cemetery, following the Napoleonic concept of an area enclosed by walls with a guard service, etc.

Could a solution for Italy be to create dedicated corners within classic cemeteries?

One solution for Italy at the moment has been to create dedicated corners within traditional cemeteries. But much more could be done. In our idea, the forest should be much freer to expand

An area within a cemetery would most likely quickly become too crowded, too small. Trees need to be planted far apart and so we would probably need areas outside traditional cemetery. Obviously areas that would need to be connected with public transport efficiently so that people can then get there easily.

In other countries, however, the concept is very much related to the preservation of that area. They become 'sacred' areas, to be preserved, precisely because they are places that preserve memory. So often there is also a conservation, rewilding or landscaping project behind the movement towards green burials.

2.celerbanti.com-CapsulaMundi-SepolturaVerde-GreenBurials-UrnaCeneri-Credit-PaoloBarbieri
photo credits: Paolo Barbieri

Our project also has this purpose, cemeteries would become forests with a deep emotional meaning for the community, which would then protect them precisely because of their symbolic value as a representation of their ancestors.

It would also be interesting to identify areas that need to be re-purposed, perhaps because they have suffered a fire, and bring them back to life, under the subsequent protection of the community.

If we do not move away from the principle of the closed cemetery, which is becoming increasingly crowded, we clearly cannot generate new spaces.

The important thing is to start and continue the work of convincing. This is the only way to change the mentality and common sense of a country, which is inevitably going to have its cultural, religious and legislative rigidities. In our experience of over ten years of work as celebrants and trainers, when people see something beautiful like this, and see that it is possible, they are converted. Celebrant-led ceremonies are on the rise, because anyone who sees a ceremony of this kind and experiences it for themselves comes out and says to everyone around them, to their family and friends, "That was so heart-felt! I’d love a ceremony like that." Having said that, of course, finding a municipality with an area to reclaim that is willing to open a memorial wood and finding the first family willing to plant a tree with the ashes of their loved one in one of your Capsula Mundi, is a hard ask. They would be pioneers.

Speaking of memorial woods, the legislation in Italy allows them to be created by private individuals, but, quite rightly, they can never be for profit. 

This is why private green cemeteries are not on the rise here, unlike in the US and the UK, where bodies can be lain to rest in a shallow grave wrapped in a linen shroud or in a cardboard coffin.

This is also a problem in Italy, because in fact, when coffins are bought, they are welded with zinc.  Even if you want to put it in the ground, the decomposition process is not activated because the decomposition bacteria have no contact with the organic matter. From this point of view, there is actually a technical impediment. 

Unfortunately, we have asked for confirmation of this and in Italy, even now, only wooden coffins with certain characteristics established by law are allowed in crematoria. Eco-sustainable coffins made of as cardboard, bamboo or are not accepted. It is clear that there are health considerations to be safeguarded, but if they are allowed elsewhere, I am sure it is only a matter of time here in Italy and there will be a change of mentality. For now, there is still the idea that spending a lot on a coffin is a sign of respect and love.

For coffins that are buried directly in the ground, which currently only happens in small local cemeteries with more space, there are many prescriptions concerning what wood to use. It must be a soft, unpainted wood. There can be no metal handles. In cemeteries close to large cities there is a problem of overcrowding and coffins no longer go in the ground, they are stacked in concrete shafts, and the use of galvanized coffins is de facto mandatory.

There is a regulation that practically defines all the materials from which coffins can be made, and it only includes wood. Cardboard, which is used in so many other countries, has never been considered, nor have biodegradable plastics, wicker, or linen.

Simple cardboard coffins are beautiful and eco-friendly. We have seen so many funerals in England, where children can draw on them and leave messages to the deceased, bidding a safe “journey”.

In this sense, there can be no real hygiene problem since it has been done in England since 1990.

In Italy there is even less of a problem than in the UK, where funerals are celebrated after 3 or 4 weeks, whereas in Italy they take place after 1-2 days. In any case, a cardboard coffin is burnt together with the body in the crematorium. Apart from cultural resistance, there may be a strong 'market' component, because funeral directors obviously charge for all the accessories. We are sure that once the demand for sustainable and 'green' funerals becomes stronger and expressed more vocally, they will be the first to supply what is being demanded. And if they don't, things will change as they have done the UK, where the winning model has become 'Direct Cremation' - that is, where the family goes directly to the Crematorium without paying a Funeral Director and the cost is thus considerably lower. It is clear, however, that culturally there is still a long way to go. We are optimistic because we think that Italians are ready and the municipality of Bologna is a case in point. It is no coincidence that they have a ceremony hall in the Bologna cemetery and call on the services of celebrants for non-traditional, non-religious funerals.

If you don’t know there is an alternative, you can’t even imagine one. That is what you are doing and that is what we are doing. We are imagining, communicating and implementing alternatives, to allow a wider choice. And the more we talk about it, the more we disseminate, the more we change things, little by little. 

We are collaborating with architects and designers on the design of funeral spaces. A new card for us and for you in Italy are funeral homes. Many of them have innovative plans and private gardens to design. They could add a burial with tree planting to their package. As they already do by offering, for example, pet burials (see also pet funeral LINK TO OUR BLOG). There is a lot of potential in the new generation crematoria that are coming to Italy with designs that are very open to innovation.

We see that some things are moving. I mean, from when we started in 2003 to today, things have changed a lot.

Italy is often a little behind... other countries are exploring different options, from natural burials to water cremation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis (see for example Resomation) or Promession, because they cost less, are less polluting, consume less energy and have a lower carbon footprint.

The important thing is that people understand that there are many choices. Nowadays, people think there is only one way and everyone follows that traditional path. There is also an ‘energy’ factor: when a loved one dies, you already have so many problems that you don’t want to think about or organize something that might turn out to be complicated. Knowing that there is an alternative should become a kind of mental automatism, knowing that the alternatives are well-structured and ready to use: easy paths that do not create worries

“And which are dignified.”
“Of course”.

“Thank you very much for your time and for your project.”
“Thank you.”

We all die. This is life. 

What happens to us in the afterlife depends on our beliefs. 

What happens to our bodies after life is up to us. https://promessa.se

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