Green and Natural Burials
Who ever said that when you leave this earth that you have to also leave everybody behind with a huge burden. Not only are traditional funerals extremely expensive, but also taxing on the environment. Many people are discovering green methods of burial that solve both of the major problems with traditional funerals.
Why so Expensive?
Until going through the loss of a loved one, many don’t realize just how expensive the entire funeral process can be. Every part of the “traditional” burial is expensive. Between the casket, plot, vault, headstone, flowers and so on, the price can sky rocket into the tens of thousands of dollars. All this for the passing of an individual, who mostly likely would never want to put a financial burden like this on any of their relatives.
Environmental Impact
Many of the aspects of burial are extremely detrimental to the environment and many people seem to approve of the continued behavior. This has a lot to do with the use of a vault. Many funeral homes require that you use a vault in order to bury a deceased individual there for the reason to keep caskets from moving and the ground to cave in. Family members approve of this practice because they want the remains of their loved ones preserved. I can understand that people have religious beliefs to have have burials, but why must their remains be preserved? It’s not like we dig them back up ever again and there’s no law enforcing this policy, just the funeral homes. Not only is that vault expensive to get, but all the materials to construct the vault need to be hauled to the funeral home, generating excessive greenhouse gases.
Many proponents of vaults say that they are in fact environmentally friendly since they prevent chemicals from leaching into the earth. That’s great, but these chemicals come from using dangerous chemicals to embalm people and non-biodegradable materials for caskets. So that means we have to create additional greenhouses gases to make a vault to protect the ground from chemicals we use on the deceased so that they can be preserved. So let me ask the same question over again, why must their remains be preserved? We need to get over our fascination with wanting to keep the around the remains of our deceased.
Green Funerals
It just doesn’t make sense to continue having such wasteful burials when there are options available that are much more green. Let’s get into a few of those options.
Natural Burial
This is the most natural form of burial in that it allow for natural decomposition and allow for restoration of landscapes. The burials are so much simpler than the “traditional” burials most people seem obligated to choose. Natural burials do not require caskets and completely preserve the lands. The great thing about this type of burial is that all the money is put towards maintaining the beautiful lands and not the all the expenses I listed above. That means you are spending a fraction of the cost while allowing our loved ones to not bear the huge cost of a burial. Most people would reject this type of burial simply because it does not allow them to visit the deceased. There was a tv show that talked about a burial in which you put a small GPS device with the corpse to allow you to find where the individual was buried.
Cremation
Many consider cremation the most environmentally friendly option. You’d be surprised to find out that it is nowhere as green as natural burials. Don’t get me wrong, cremations are far more eco-friendly than the “traditional” burials I mentioned above. The problem is that they may not always be cheaper and still generate tons of greenhouse gases. It makes sense since the remains of the deceased are being burned. It is recommended to use a newer cremation facility, since they often use less energy and burn less fossil fuels.
Semi-Traditional Burial
If you do decide to stick with a more “traditional” burial, you can still make it far more inexpensive as well as less harmful on the environment. There are many companies that sell biodegradable caskets that will allow the remains to naturally decompose into the ground. Since there is no law requiring funeral homes to have vaults, I would stick with ones that don’t require a vault. There are also not many places that require the use of embalming. Instead, it may be better to find funeral homes that have alternatives to embalming like refrigeration and dry ice.
Check out the Green Burial Council for more information on green burials along with funeral homes that are approved by the council.
Comments
I spend lots of time educating people on how to live green and never thought to plan a green death. Thanks for the info
Hey, interesting article. I’d never seen burial as having negative effects on the environment but youve really pointed out some good points here. Cheers.
Cardboard caskets are becoming increasingly popular in Australia, as long as your local council allows it. There needs to be a shift in their thinking too.
It’s high time that we make decisions regarding green burials and gain control of the disposal of our body, it’s like a way to give back to the planet organically.
This is a very interesting post. Most people would not have thought about being more environmentally friendly when it comes to burials. The financial burden of burials is unfortunate too. Still people would be touchy about not fully respecting the remains of their loved ones.
I personally believe that natural burial is the best option. In some societies and religions it is is only option they have. Well, in these societies, deceased can be visited in the cemeteries. I think it is because funeral is not a business over there. I think natural burial should be promoted here as well.
Good point. When I’m dead i dont see how it would matter to me which way I go into the ground.
-Jack
So would people have to include in their will that they wish to be buried in a “green” fashion? o_O
yes according to my opinion natural burial is best option.