After my father passed away suddenly, my mother, siblings and I all struggled with planning his funeral. We were already in a state of shock and sorrow, and then we were overwhelmed with the options and decisions we had to make in regards to the funeral. Luckily for us, we worked with an amazing funeral home and funeral director who helped guide us through the process. I know how hard it is to plan a funeral and how many decisions need to be made. This website was created in order to give families preparing to lay a loved one to rest a guide of sorts that will help them determine what decisions will need to be made and information about those decisions. I extend my sympathies to you if you are in this position and hope my website helps to make things a little bit easier for you.
If you're pre-planning your funeral and one of your criteria is eco-friendly procedures and materials, a green burial might be for you. These eco-friendly burials have grown in popularity due to their low impact on the environment and the way they allow the remains to rest naturally in the ground, often in a scenic, natural habitat. Here are three ways that you can help the environment by choosing this option for your own funeral.
1. Using fewer non-sustainable materials
Green burials focus on putting only biodegradable materials into each grave and on sourcing them sustainably. This means that, instead of using steel for the casket, which depletes the Earth's finite supply of steel and blocks the remains from the surrounding nature, green burials prefer to use bamboo, willow, or recycled cardboard for the caskets. Other non-renewable resources it avoids include concrete (used in "traditional" in-ground burial for grave liners and/or burial vaults), the chemicals used for embalming fluid, and petroleum-based clothing (the deceased is dressed in natural fabrics such as cotton).
2. Allowing your remains to return to the soil more gently and naturally
The combined effect of embalming fluids, steel caskets, and burial vaults don't really preserve your remains for any length of time; they simply slow down and alter the natural process of decay until it happens much differently than it would in nature. In a green burial, the natural process of decay is much less inhibited. The remains aren't chemically treated or shut away from the soil, meaning that the microorganisms whose role it is to facilitate biodegradation can do their work freely. The natural burial process thus permits your remains to become one with nature in a much freer and less restricted way.
3. Reducing manufacturing energy costs
Another reason that eschewing some of the widespread products used for funerals (such as chemicals, steel, and concrete) is eco-friendly is that it reduces demand for these substances and, consequently, reduces the amount of energy that would otherwise be spent manufacturing them.
As you can see, a green burial is distinct from a traditional burial in several ways, including the process, the materials used, and what happens to the remains after interment. If you're concerned about the effect you could have on the Earth after you're gone, an eco-friendly burial may be just what you're looking for. If you're not sure which type of burial would suit your personality, budget, and schedule better, contact your funeral home for further advice.
Share7 October 2016
