Are coffins sold back to funeral directors for re-using?

No. The coffin and the body inside are cremated together. There are occasions where the deceased or the family of the deceased have opted for using a cardboard coffin in which their loved one will be cremated. When this happens families sometimes want to have a more aesthetically pleasing coffin or container on the catafalque during the service. Families therefore will opt for either a pall (a cloth covering the cardboard coffin) supplied by the family or a 'cocoon coffin' (an outer shell that covers the cardboard coffin) supplied by the cremation authority or will decorate a cardboard coffin themselves. Neither the pall nor the cocoon is cremated. It is important to understand that the pall and cocoon do not contain the body of the deceased; they are simply superficial coverings for a cardboard coffin.  more