Science
Earth to Earth

Microorganisms decompose the dead in a high-tech coffin in 40 days. The idea came from the USA – now the new burial method is also available in this country.
It is composted pig. But the earth smells of potting soil, like you would put it in a balcony planter. Whoever enters the chapel in the small cemetery in Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein, does not have to fear the smell of decay. The “cocoon”, as the provider Meine Erde calls the coffin made of stainless steel, is constantly well ventilated. “My son put his nose to the exhaust pipe: nothing stinks there,” says Pablo