![Capsula Mundi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/03/capsula-mundi-death-design_dezeen_hero-852x479.jpg)
Five designs for a sustainable death
To celebrate Earth Day, we're looking at ways you can be sustainable beyond the grave. We've picked out five eco-friendly designs for the deceased, including an egg-shaped burial pod and a cremation urn made of sewage water.
![Capsula Mundi](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/03/capsula-mundi-death-design_dezeen_sq-852x852.jpg)
Capsula Mundi by Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel
Capsula Mundi is an egg-shaped pod, where the body of the deceased is placed in a foetal position inside a container made from biodegradable material before being buried in the earth.
A tree, chosen either by the deceased prior to their death, or by the family, is then planted above the burial site.
![Shaina Garfield Leaves sustainable coffin](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/03/leaves-shaina-garfield-coffin-design-indaba_dezeen_sq-852x852.jpg)
This eco-friendly coffin uses fungus to help biodegrade the body so that it decomposes quickly and fertilises the surrounding soil.
The body is wrapped in natural cotton and laid on a pine wood surface. It is secured with a woven netting of rope that has been laced with fungal spores, which multiply and speed up the body's decomposition.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/12/Studio-Nienke-Hoogvliet-cremation-urn-bioplastic-wastewater-dutch-design-week-_dezeen_sq1-852x852.jpg)
Mourn by Studio Nienke Hoogvliet
This sustainable cremation urn is made of polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA, a bioplastic that can be produced from bacteria found in sewage water.
The bioplastic is combined with cremation ashes to produce a cone-shaped vessel that biodegrades, meaning the ashes of the deceased are released gradually into nature.
![Death roundup Dezeen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/04/capsula-mundi-death-design_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x852.jpg)
Capsula Mundi Urn by Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel
Similar to the Capsula Mundi burial pod, this urn is made of a biodegradeable material that is planted in the soil, with a tree planted on top of it.
The ashes are fed through a hole and secured with a cone-shaped screw-top. According to the designers, the time it takes for the urn to biodegrade ranges from a few months to a few years, depending on the soil conditions.
![The Bios Incube designed by Bios Urn in Barcelona, Spain](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/03/bios-incube-bios-cube-design-biodegradeable-barcelona-spain_dezeen_sq_4.jpg)
This smart incubator works together with Bios Urn, a biodegradable urn that stores cremated ashes. The incubator comes with a seed inside that grows into a tree, and the plant's growth is monitored via a smartphone app.
Described as the "first tree incubator designed for the afterlife", the product comes with an in-built self-watering system that is triggered by a sensor device attached to the surface of the soil.