How Do Companion Urns For Two People Work And Can I Get One That Turns Us Into A Tree?

May that other-half be a partner, a sibling, a child, a parent, a friend or even a pet, it is possible to stay together in the after-life thanks to companion urns.

 

 

Can two people’s ashes be mixed together?

Mixing two people’s ashes his is also known as “commingling”.

Commingling a couple’s remains means that the two individual’s ashes obtained after cremation (also commonly called cremains) are mixed, or “mingled” together in an urn, most often a companion urn.

 

Do remains have to be commingled in a companion urn?

No. This is a matter of personal preference.

Here are the two most common methods of inurning two people’s remains:

1. Simple:  In this case, the couple’s remains are together inside an urn, but are not commingled. For example, they can be in two individual bags (although if it is a biodegradable urn, the material of the bag or container needs to be biodegradable).
2. Commingled: If the couple requested their ashes to be commingled, or if the family decided that commingling was the best expression of the two people’s love, then the ashes can be mixed together before in companion urns for permanent storage.

If you are a family member in charge of handling the funeral and disposition arrangements, be sure to check the couple’s will to see if they had particular instructions regarding the mixing of their ashes.

 

Does Bios Urn ® offer an option for two people?

The answer is yes.

Imagine that you could come back to life, together as a tree. Well it is possible.

The goal of all of the Bios products is to change the way people think about death by converting the end of life into a transformation and a return to life through nature.

There are two options available:

Using a single Bios Urn ® for two people

The Bios Urn ® has the capacity for 2.5 liters of ashes which more or less corresponds to the ashes of 1 person (and it can also be used with any amount of ash under this amount). You can commingle (mix) two different people’s ashes together in a single Bios Urn ® as long as the total quantity is under 2.5 liters. If you plan to split the ashes between different family members and only use a portion in the Bios Urn ®, they could therefore fit in a single tree urn. The price of the Bios Urn ® is $ 140 USD (or equivalent in your local currency) and it can be purchased here. We ship worldwide, no exceptions!

Using our companion urns which are called Bios Urn Love ®

Another option if you wish to keep two people’s ashes together is to plant 2 trees together next to each other.

Bios Urn Love ® is a pack of companion urns which contains two biodegradable Bios Urns ®. Each urn is designed to contain a tree seed or seedling, so that two loved-ones can grow together as trees in the after-life, side by side.

 

To find out more about it, check out the video below and the information page on our website.

Bios Urn Love ® is a limited edition that is only available for purchase on our website at specific times of the year. However, we most probably have them in stock at all times. You can contact us at [email protected] for further information. The price is $ 199 USD (or equivalent in your local currency).

You can use this option whether the cremains are commingled or not:

Without commingling

Place each person’s ashes separately in the respective urns. 

With commingling

Mix the two people’s ashes together and split them evenly between the two urns.

 

How do the tree urns for two people work?

The urns are made using 100% biodegradable materials leaving absolutely no trace after a period of time.

They specifically have two parts – a top capsule with the proper medium to allow complete germination of the seed or seedling, and a bottom cone where you can place the ashes of one or more people.

The design of these tree urns allows the seed to germinate separated from the ashes. Once the urn starts the decomposing process, the tree roots are already strong enough to contact the ashes and grow through the urn.

All of our urns are ready to be used with any tree, shrub or plant seed or seedling. No exceptions!

They also have no expiry date and can be used with new or old ashes, enabling you to pre-plan your future the way you both want it.

“What we try to illustrate is that the end can also be the beginning” says co-founder Gerard Moline.

 

WATCH THE COMPANION URN VIDEO HERE!

 

Should we purchase a companion urn in advance?

There are many advantages to selecting and purchasing your companion urn ahead of time, including the ability to pre-plan for your personal preferences while saving your surviving relatives stress when finalizing the funeral.

The benefits of purchasing an urn in advance include:

• · Peace of mind knowing your resting place has been finalized
• · You get the exact urn you want
• · You save your loved ones from additional stress
• · No need to pay expedited shipping fees
• · A great sense of control over your own death
• · A chance to give back to the planet if your end-of-life plans are sustainable such as contaminating the earth as little as possible and planting a tree

 

What happens if one of us dies before the other?

The Bios Urns ® do not have an expiration date. Thanks to the materials used to create them, you can keep the urns indefinitely.

It can securely hold your loved-one’s ashes until your own passing (or vice versa), just like a standard urn. It can be stored for years or even decades until you are able to add the second person’s ashes and be planted in a natural environment or in a planter. The urn will only begin to break down once it’s planted and exposed to soil and moisture.

When the second person passes away, the urn(s) can be planted following the instructions below. It can be used with any type of creamted ashes regardless of how old they are.

To favour its preservation, we recommend storing the urn in a dry place away from extreme heat, or humidity. We also recommend only getting the seeds or seedling at the moment of planting.

 

How are the remains placed into the companion urn?

When an individual’s remains come to you from the crematorium, in most cases they will be inside a durable plastic bag which will be placed inside a plastic or cardboard “temporary urn”, an inexpensive container provided by the crematory or funeral home. In this case, we recommend taking the plastic bag out of the temporary urn and gently emptying  it inside the biodegradable urn. Make sure you are in a place with no wind or draft before starting the procedure.

In case you will be keeping each person´s ashes separate with the Bios Urn Love ®, we recommend gently emptying each of the two individual’s plastic bags of ashes into their respective tree urn. This is the simplest solution.

However, if the couple requested their ashes to be commingled, or if the family decided that commingling was the best expression of the two people’s love, then the easiest way to commingle the ashes is to open one plastic bag and pour the contents of the second into the first. Then you can split the combined ashes evenly between the pack of duo urns. If you are using a single Bios Urn ®, we recommend you follow the same steps in order to mix the ashes into one bag enabling you to them split them between the different family members. You can gently pour your portion into the lower capsule of the tree urn (making sure that the total amount is under 2.5 Liters).

You can read the Planting Instructions which explain what to do if there is an air chamber left in the lower capsule once the ashes have been placed there and how to plant it.

Just so you know, the Bios Urn® can be filled by a crematorium directly if you take it to them in advance. In many cases, you can ask the funeral director to take care of this for you. Funeral homes are often required by law to use the container of your choice, even if it is purchased from an outside source. Thanks to its special lock mechanism, it ensures the ashes remain locked into the bottom of the urn, and is easy for transporting. Just make sure you ask them to not include any plastic bag inside the urn as this is not biodegradable. 

 

 

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