Ecology and death: biodegradable urns that turn into trees
Biodegradable urns that transform into trees allow for more environmentally friendly funerals. Discover this practice.As in all aspects of our daily lives, many eco-friendly options are emerging for funerals in France. Among them are memorial forests, human composting, and biodegradable urns that turn into trees! We'll explain everything about this alternative.
How do biodegradable urns transform into trees?
The biodegradable Bios urn made of natural fibers has two compartments, one for the deceased's ashes and another for soil and the tree seed. The seed cannot grow in the deceased's ashes; it absolutely needs soil. As the tree grows, its roots will gradually mix with the ashes of the deceased.
Here's how to proceed:
- Place the ashes in the funeral urn
First, the deceased's ashes must be placed in the lower part of the urn.
- Place the seed
Next, place the seed of the tree you have selected in the upper part of the funeral urn.
The chosen seed can be of any type. For example, you can ask a gardener for some advice on which seed is most suitable depending on the environment and location where you wish to bury the urn.
- Close and bury the funeral urn
The urn should then be closed and buried in the location of your choice. It should protrude 3-4 centimeters above the ground.
Make sure to check beforehand that you have permission to bury the urn in that location. The burial of an urn on private land is subject to numerous constraints.
- Let the tree grow
The seed gradually takes root in the deceased's ashes, and the tree grows naturally over the months.
There are also electronic "incubators" in which the urn is buried, allowing for monitoring the tree's growth and measuring all the soil data (temperature, humidity, soil conductivity, etc.). Through an algorithm, it calculates exactly what the soil needs.
The pot is equipped with a water reserve to be self-sufficient for several days.
However, French regulations are unclear on the use of an above-ground "incubator" to bury a loved one's urn. For example, it is strictly forbidden to keep an urn at home, except temporarily.
Biodegradable urn: where to bury?
To transform into a tree, these urns have been designed to be planted in the ground and must therefore meet the legal requirements for an urn burial.
The urn cannot be buried in a cemetery or placed in a cavurne for several reasons.
First, it is not possible to grow a tree in a burial site or in a cavurne.
Second, the urn is biodegradable and therefore does not meet the necessary sealing rules.
Finally, urns placed in a burial site must be able to be removed to be relocated, which will not be the case if the urn has decomposed over time.
It can, however, be buried on private property, but under very strict conditions.
The prefect, as well as the landowner, must give their consent and free access to the urn so that it remains accessible to the family, even once the property is sold. This imposes a significant constraint on the future owner and can therefore make selling the land difficult.
As an alternative, at Advitam, we offer ecological funerals. For all the deceased we accompany, we plant a tree in memory of the deceased.