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Green Burials…a Natural Way to Go

October 14, 2014

Please don't bury me
Down in that cold cold ground
No, I'd druther have "em" cut me up
And pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don't mind the size
Give my stomach to Milwaukee
If they run out of beer
Put my socks in a cedar box
Just get "em" out of here
Venus de Milo can have my arms
Look out! I've got your nose
Sell my heart to the junkman
And give my love to Rose
John Prine 

 

A couple of years ago NERC staff got off on a “green burial” discussion tangent during a staff meeting. Personally, I still advocated for cremation, although I suppose it has environmental issues as well. Well, the other day I was perusing the environmental headlines for a new blog topic and found a green burial article on the Washington Post. Apparently there is a growing green burial movement.

A green or “natural” burial is a way of allowing bodies to decompose naturally—without chemical preservatives or disinfectants (aka embalming fluid). Bodies are recycled naturally into the soil. The deceased may be buried in a biodegradable coffin or casket (made of wood, natural wicker, or even cardboard); alternatively a simple shroud can be used to cover the body. Many cemeteries set aside wooded or natural areas for green burials, intending for the areas to be disturbed as little as possible. Various land management or landscaping methods can be employed to maintain the burial area, including habitat conservation projects and permaculture.

According to the Washington Post, those of us in the baby boomer crowd are beginning to consider what happens to us after retirement. That is, what happens when we die? Send-off parties are being planned. And, apparently there are many of us contemplating natural burials, giving rise to the “green burial movement” and a growing industry to support it.

Graves in the wooded green burial section of Bestgate Memorial Park in Annapolis, Maryland are even dug by hand in order to reduce the carbon footprint. Engraved river rocks are used for burial markers instead of headstones.

According to the Post there are no accurate statistics on the number of green burials around the country. However, they cite a 2008 survey conducted by funeral industry researchers Kates-Boylston Publications which found that 43 percent of respondents would consider having an “eco-friendly burial.”

Advanced planning is important for green burials. With no preservatives in the body, decay quickly begins. So, the funeral (or party if you wish) will need to occur within a few short days.

Even cremation has gone green. There is a company offering a biodegradable urn which will sprout a plant from a seed contained in the ashes. Another company called “And Vinyly” presses ashes into vinyl records for those deceased music lovers; and, apparently, according to the Post, a rising number of Etsy crafters who will turn the ashes of loved ones into glass art or canvas paintings.

Interestingly, according to an article on Wikipedia, there are no state ordinances which require that bodies be embalmed. Mechanical refrigeration, chilling with dry ice, or some other technique is typically required within 24 hours to slow decomposition prior to burial.

Green burials do offer an alternative for those of us concerned about the environmental issues associated with conventional burial. Personally, I love to walk through old cemeteries—Mt. Auburn in Cambridge is a favorite. However, I do have concerns about the amount of land used by cemeteries and of course the resources associated with burials.

According to the Wikipedia article cited above[1], each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately:

  • 30 million board feet of hardwood caskets
  • 90,272 tons of steel caskets
  • 14,000 tons of steel vaults
  • 2,700 tons of copper and bronze caskets
  • 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete vaults
  • 827,060 US gallons of embalming fluid, which usually includes formaldehyde.

For future reference, the Green Burial Council has developed standards and an eco-certification program for burial grounds, funeral homes, and burial products. There is also an interesting blog by a funeral director who offers all sorts of information on green burials….even an “end-of-life” toolkit.

 By Athena Lee Bradley


[1]Please note, these statistics include citations, however I did not check them.

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