Flatpack coffins help the environment, funeral costs and the grieving process

11.10.2020
Flatpack coffins help the environment, funeral costs and the grieving process - Похоронный портал
Eco-friendly coffins on the rise as Australians look to reduce their environmental footprint https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-24/eco-friendly-coffins-gaining-popularity-in-australia/12279940


By Jessica Moran


A woman paints a cardboard coffin in bright colours.


Emma Dean says painting the coffins is a beautiful process.(ABC News: Jessica Moran)



When Jenny Cox's brother-in-law Phil died earlier this year she knew a cardboard coffin was the perfect choice.

"We were looking for a solution for Phil that was really environmentally friendly," she said.

"This coffin was made out of bioboard so it was a compostable coffin and that really fitted with his values and the things he believed in.

"He was a strong environmentalist and loved the bush."

Phil Gregg was a Vietnam veteran and avid lover of comic books.

"We ended up painting The Phantom [on his coffin] because he had been a collector of Phantom comics for 50 years and his life in some ways paralleled the Phantom."


Cartoon character Phantom painted on a coffin lid


Jenny Cox says painting the coffin helped her grieve.(Supplied: Jenny Cox)


Ms Cox said painting the coffin helped her grieve and heal.

"When you paint, the process of painting makes you become calm and centred and you have to do that to be able to paint," she said.

The Community Coffin Club in Ulverstone in Tasmania's north-west usually makes wooden coffins but members are now trying to lift the lid on rising funeral costs.

The cardboard coffins are significantly cheaper, can be decorated easily and also come as a flatpack.

It is the third coffin Jenny Cox has painted for loved ones in her life.


A woman with plaits and wearing glasses sits on her couch


Jenny Cox believes cardboard coffins are an "awesome" alternative.(ABC News: Jessica Moran)


"When someone dies you feel so helpless, and everybody says what can I do to help and there really isn't anything anyone can do," she said.

"So I felt that by painting the coffin, I could take a layer of stress out of their life and be able to do something that reflected on that person.

"And talking about the design and what to put on it, that process helps everyone."

Artist Emma Dean's brother was buried in a traditional coffin when he died a few years ago.

"It was horrible," she said.

"Something like these cardboard flatpack coffins would have been much more perfect.


The coffins can be delivered anywhere in Australia.(ABC News: Jessica Moran.)

Ms Dean said while a lot of people saw death as quite morbid, it could be something that is celebrated.

"Just bringing people together in that time where they're grieving and coming together in those quiet times and just writing on a coffin or painting it together, it's really beautiful," she said.

"Sometimes when you're grieving you're awake at two o'clock in the morning or something … so painting a little bit here and there can help settle you.

"It brings people together so they can actually reflect on the person's that's passed away, and it's that creativity coming through, working with your hands and remembering who is this person that's passed over."

'The last thing you make'


A cardboard coffin standing on its end


An Ulverstone community group is making cardboard coffins.(ABC News: Jessica Moran)

Gina McKinlay said she was completely at peace with having terminal lung cancer.

"Dying has never bothered me, it's a process of life," she said.

She has outlived her prognosis by three and a half years.

Last year, with the help from volunteers at the club, she built her own coffin out of pine but would also recommend cardboard.

"It's reasonably priced of course, in fact it's jolly cheap, it's more eco-friendly too," she said.

"And they come as a flatpack so they're easy to assemble and decorate or paint or whatever you like.

"It's a feeling of accomplishment too, it might be the last large thing that you make, who knows."

Helping cut funeral costs

The average cost of a funeral in Australia is between $4,000 and $20,000.

"When someone dies, you're so grief-stricken and you want the very best for that person but the very best doesn't have to be the most expensive," Jenny Cox said.

"People think 'my mother is the most important person in the world to me so of course we'll have the $2,000 coffin and the $5,000 handles' — it's nuts.

"I mean, that might be what some people need but I think you can express how much you love the person in another way and it's doesn't always have to revolve around money, it could involve attention and care and kindness."

The flatpacks are able to be posted anywhere in Australia.


A woman sat sewing at at table


Gina McKinlay has made her own coffin.(ABC News: Jessica Moran)



                                                                                                           ABC News (@abcnews) | Twitter

Hauser: Have a funeral and get a new dream
https://www.inforum.com/opinion/6693000-Hauser-Have-a-funeral-and-get-a-new-dream

Faux funeral held for live entertainment industry, workers call for relief
https://www.newsbreak.com/california/san-francisco/news/2079953711031/faux-funeral-held-for-live-ent...

NJ woman allegedly holds scam fundraiser for funeral of son — who isn’t dead https://nypost.com/2020/10/09/woman-allegedly-holds-scam-fundraiser-for-dead-sons-funeral/

Nicola Sturgeon ‘Nazi emails’ over virus rules lead to arrest after funeral snub claim
Brian Smith has been arrested after the First Minister allegedly received a string of emails comparing her to a Nazi and Margaret Thatcher. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/nicola-sturgeon-nazi-emails-sees-22823531

PETER HITCHENS: If anyone tries to force apart mourners at my funeral, I’ll be back to haunt them!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8826683/PETER-HITCHENS-tries-force-apart-mourners-funeral...

La muerte del periodista Hunter Thompson: el funeral de 3 millones de dólares que pagó Johnny Depp y sus cenizas disparadas por un cañón  https://www.infobae.com/historias/2020/10/11/la-muerte-del-periodista-hunter-thompson-el-funeral-de-...

Делясь ссылкой на статьи и новости Похоронного Портала в соц. сетях, вы помогаете другим узнать нечто новое.
18+
Яндекс.Метрика