Used coffin found in bin behind Spanish cemetery

Public outrage was sparked after a used coffin was found in a rubbish bin in Tomares (Seville) last Tuesday.

The incident occurred outside the town's cemetery, where the coffin's ‘remains’ were placed in a bin located right by the cemetery's main entrance.

According to the Tomares Town Hall, the incident followed the exhumation of a body that had been in a niche for over ten years. The family of the deceased allegedly refused to take responsibility for the remains, prompting municipal authorities to act in line with regulations.

In such cases, the town hall explained, abandoned coffins are typically placed in bins located outside cemetery grounds for later collection by the municipal waste service. The council, led by José María Soriano, emphasised that this was in strict accordance with local regulations. The coffin was removed by a waste collection truck later that afternoon

A similar incident occurred in Castilblanco de los Arroyos last August, when an employee of the company contracted by the town's council to handle burials mistakenly placed a coffin in a public street bin. The town's mayor, José Manuel Carballar, explained that this was due to an error by a new worker who had been with the company for only a few days. Carballar added that the company had already issued an apology for the "regrettable mistake," which sparked a heated public debate in the town.