Death kills our planet. This is a bright evaluation of a new business offering an innovative alternative: to make the ash of your loved one into a reef and attached to the British seabed.
Increasing concern about traditional funeral environmental costs: one burial creates 833 kg CO2Meanwhile, a typical cremation trace is about 400 kg of CO2;
In addition, $ 1.6 million is used in the US every year. Tons of concrete and 14,000 tonnes of steel. Chemicals from embalming processes spread to the soil.
But now the British starter, a soothing reef, defines what cemetery can be by turning people ash into memorial reef structures. “The cemetery should be places that combine us with nature and remind us that we are part of a larger ecosystem,” said Aura Pérez, the founder of the company, who met with his business partner Louise Skaym when they studied at the London Royal College of Art and Empire College.
Recreation reef used cremation process to combine PET or human ash with chopped oyster shells and concrete into a substance proven to increase marine growth.
“Artificial oyster reefs can help regenerate marine growth, but 85% have been lost due to human activity, so we use animal and human ash to replace them,” Perez said.
Then the formula is 3D printed into reef structures for creating a variety of habitats for different species of fish, different heights, textures and tunnel systems. When the reef is ready, it is attached to the seabed at a depth of about 10 meters, where it will restore marine biodiversity, filter water and prevent coastal erosion. Reefs can record as much as $ 2.2 million. Kg co2 in three years.
Recreation reef began to integrate pet ash last year into artificial reefs in Bali, Indonesia. However, the demand was so high that the company opens up to the people. The company tries to secure licenses to replace the degraded seabed with artificial reefs on the Southern coast of England, 1,560 m of stone surfing, protecting the plymouth sound.
“The time of the death industry is to change: we want the industry to be directed from the growth of death, life and rebirth,” said Pérez.
Business has won Terra Carta Design Lab, a global competition created by King Charles and British designer Sir Jony Ive and Innovate UK. The founders were named the Forbes 30 to 30 in the list for social impact in Europe.
“In 2024, Bali carried out a trial reef in cooperation with the local ballot community,” said Pérez. “We built 24 memorial reefs for beloved cats, dogs, lizards, fish and exotic bird owners in the US, UK and other countries.
“The pilot project attracted a species of 59 fish and reached 12 times the variety of fish than in nearby degraded areas,” she added. “It’s very interesting.”
“We do not see that we work with death, and rather give us a better life to generations to change very polluting industry and practice,” said Skayem, whose masters have declined due to the climate crisis and human activities due to oyster reefs and coral reefs.
Recreation reefs expect 2026. Have a UK license and will set up the first reef in six months to 12 months. Human memorials’ initial costs are £ 3,900, although families can pay more for many curated activities on the site.
Profon Rick Stafford, who specializes in artificial reefs and marine biodiversity at Bournemouth University, praised the company for increasing local biodiversity.
“Recreation reefs are different from other companies because it focuses on improving biodiversity close to the shore,” he said. “By 2030, this is fully in line with environmental policy, for example, to protect 30% of the world’s land and sea, and the Net -increase policy of the sea to ensure that changes in the maritime environment leave the ecosystem in a better state than before, focusing on improving biodiversity.”
Peter Holt, director and founder of the Plymouth ship project “Maritime Counseling Service”, also praised the business.
“I am very excited by the project and its ability to improve the habitats of the maritime and support many areas of the maritime industry,” he said. “The project received support from all the community here, including the King’s Harbor master, as it will potentially increase diving tourism and fishing, along with the Plymouth Sound National Maritime Park to get involved in the public with sea life.”