The Low Down On Green Living
May 19th, 2008
Fade to Green: Eco-friendly Burial Options
Stumble it!
Recently I was at a Bioneers event here in LA, and a very spirited older woman stood up and announced, “Did you know that you can bury yourself in your own back yard? Well you’ll have to get someone else to do it, I guess– but it really is possible!” We all had a good chuckle and she went on to explain that you only needed to get a simple permit from the city to put your remains into your own yard. Many people in the audience were quite intrigued.
Ed Begley Jr., eco-activist and actor, was there and he chimed in, “That’s great! Just dig a whole, throw me in, and plant a tree on top of me. That’s how I want to go!”
This all got me to thinking about what the range of ”green burial” options might be, and how they stacked up against each other. I know it might be a tough topic to swallow, but when you consider that over 2.5 million people pass on each year in the United States, there is some pretty serious environmental impact to consider! We bury over 30 million board feet of wood, over 90,000 tons of steel, and more than 830,000 gallons of embalming fluid. Surely there is a more low-impact, nature-loving way for us to pass on.
So what is a “green burial”? It is primarily defined by doing LESS of what is involved in a typical burial. Traditional burials involve loading the body with embalming fluids, placing it in a casket, and interring the body and casket in the ground. An eco-friendly burial can mean skipping the use of embalming fluids and burying the body in a biodegradable shroud or a simple wood coffin (that will biodegrade over time). There are now cemeteries that specialize in green burials and participate in nature conservation programs (more on this below). Burial at sea can also be an eco-friendly option. Essentially green burial is any one of a number of options that doesn’t leave a body in a metal casket in the ground for hundreds of years.
What about cremation? Cremation is marginally better than a traditional burial from a resource perspective, but it does use fossil fuel. There are efforts being made now to explore alternative fuel uses and also using carbon offsets for cremation.
Keep in mind that a green burial can also be a great way to save money. A conventional funeral—including the embalming and a metal casket—can cost $5,000- 7,000 and up, plus another $2,000 for cemetery charges. A simple back-yard burial can cost less than $1000, and a burial at a green cemetery can save you several thousand dollars over a traditional burial.
Fortunately for all of us there is a non-profit organization called the Green Burial Council. This organization, founded in 2005, has established standards for cemeteries, funeral providers, and burial products that are environmentally sustainable and dignified for families. They are building an international network of “approved providers” who are committed to reducing toxins, waste, and carbon emissions that have been associated with conventional end-of-life rituals.
Click here to learn more about The Green Burial Council’s standards for cemeteries, funeral homes, caskets and more. And click here to find resources in your local area. We’ll highlight some particularly good options here:
+ One of the leaders of the green burial movement has been Memorial Ecosystems, based in South Carolina. They opened the Ramsey Creek preserve in 1998 as the first “green cemetery” in the US. They provide natural burials that use no embalming fluids, biodegradable caskets (but not hardwoods), and no vaults. They also protect and maintain the biodiversity of their cemetery lands. They now operate natural burial facilities in South Carolina and Georgia.
+ In New York, Greenspring Natural Cemetery offers low-impact burial in one-hundred acres of rolling hilltop meadows south of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region. You can choose to have a native tree or bush planted as a memorial to your loved one.
+ In Northern California, Fernwood operates a 32-acre cemetery in Mill Valley. Fernwood offers natural burial and they offer rocks, wildflowers and trees as burial markers. The also maintain a comprehensive land stewardship and restoration program.
+ Eternal Reefs is an organization that promotes the incorporation of cremated remains into artificial reefs. They mix remains into a cement-based reef facsimile and then place those “reef balls” into areas where aquatic life is struggling to thrive. Your loved one becomes part of an on-going environmental legacy. They have many affiliated providers across the US.
If you have had an experience with an eco-friendly burial approach or location, please let us know in the comments section.
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Comments
George Frankel
May 20th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Thank you Jessica for mentioning us in your article. We work closely with the Green Burial Council and Memorial Ecosystems and kind of look at ourselves as the “surf and turf” of the natural burial processes. At Eternal Reefs we encourage families and friends to particiapte with the creation of the memorial reef. This both helps with the closure process in dealing with the loss, and it creates a permantent bond between those who particiapte and the ocean environment. Not only are we working to preserve, protect and enhance the marine environment, we are also developing a grassroots movment of people and families fully dedicated to helping the marine environment. Thanks again for the shout out.
Sincerely, George Frankel
Holly Stevens
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
How refreshing to find a “low impact living” related blog that has thought to address the matter of earth-friendly dispositions of our remains at death! Thanks for your contribution in this direction. Here in North Carolina, there is no state law prohibiting burial of a family member on one’s own private land (though some local ordinances might carry restrictions), and a friend of mine did just that recently on his family’s 80-acre homestead in the country. I’d love to see faith communities organize to help members care for their own loved ones until final disposition by burial or cremation — it’s an idea that is slowly catching on. I appreciate your nudges!
Kim Zorn
July 26th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Green Caskets Company, LLC located in Asheville NC-
We manufacture and make 100% biodegradable, nontoxic caskets from Pine. We harvest the trees from local sawmills. We keep the cost low. They are simple & natural. Contact me if you are interested in pricing. We sell wholsale and retail-
Waylon Lewis
August 15th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Great post, thanks for the tip Marin.
I don’t know how I oughta go…cremation? Toss me in the sea, for all I care. I do know my neighbors leave their lights on 24/7 and are watering their lawn right now, it’s on automatic, even though it’s been raining for 24 hours. We got some problems in the here and now!
Burying me Softly…with a “Green” Coffin. [Tip: Low-Impact Living] | elephant journal
August 15th, 2008 at 8:38 am
[...] Dave Rogers and Noel McLellan, best friends, go here. Decide for yourself. I don’t want my burial to cost much. I want it to be low/no-impact. And [...]
A More Eco Exit: Green Funerals and Eco Burials | Greenzone Online
August 15th, 2008 at 9:01 am
[...] also here and especially here for more information PDFSHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “A More Eco Exit: Green Funerals and Eco [...]
Kit
September 7th, 2008 at 2:53 am
Thank you so much for your site! We just said farewell to my father in law and I had a very near catastrophic car accident recently. As families and loved ones we need to lift the taboo of speaking of death, our last wishes and how we can change the archaic laws which prohibit green safe burials. We need to keep our eye on the industry now to insure our loved ones get what they wish with dignity, not a fight to the end for those of us left behind. My husband and children deserve not to be left with a mountain of bills but a mountaintop they can call “Mom’s”.
Lucy Lee
September 25th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Environmentally friendly wovenwickercoffins or biodegradable caskets.
We specialize in wicker coffins or bamboo coffins(online http://www.wovenwickercoffins.com ) .Our coffins support the weight attains 300 KG,all of them are environmental protection.We have about ten kinds of different styles,our coffins are protected by a Patent of the China republic.The wicker can be easily biodegradable,and friendly with environment.The United States is a nation that pays attention to an environmental protection very much.As more and more American families and communities look for eco-friendly solutions to everything in life, we provide fitting tributes to those choosing to honor their environmentally conscious lifestyle at the time of their death.
Environmentally Friendly Coffins Or Biodegradable Casket Features:
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More wicker willow coffins or biodegradable casket products.
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Esmerelda
September 27th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Hello Jessica- Thank you for your wonderfully thoughtful blog.
Our company KINKARACO has been making our beautiful and unique burial shrouds herelocally in San Francisco since 2005 (we made the shroud Nate was buried in on “Six Feet Under”! We have been waiting and waiting forfolks to catch on to this superior organic method of interment.
Our shrouds have a patentpending design that is very easy to wrapfor the family or the fumeral home.They are designed with a lowering device that biodegrades and stays in the ground and can be carried to the gravesiteby the family, lowered and then the family can fill the grave themselves.
Check us out at:
http://www.greenburialproducts.com
It’s been worth the wait!
Ecocaskets
November 20th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
We are specialize in environment friendly woven wicker wiloow coffins,bamboo coffins,seagrass coffin,corn skin coffins or biodegradable casket.Our coffins support the weight attains 300KG,all of them are environmental protection.We have about ten kinds of different styles,and our coffins are protected by a Patent of the China republic.And we have experience of export the America and Europe market already.
Visit our website http://www.ecocaskets.us
Dana
February 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I’m torn about this. My favorite grandparent died in late 2007. He lived in Louisiana, I live in Ohio, and I had virtually no notice of his passing. He had a stroke that Monday, they knew on Wednesday that he would likely die, and that’s when my mom chose to call me. He died on Friday shortly before I left town to go be at his side. I could not afford a plane or train ticket–I had to travel by car. That’s a long drive.
Formaldehyde is nasty stuff. But it gave me the opportunity to see my grandfather one last time, to hold his hand and kiss his forehead and say farewell in my own way. Had he not been preserved, I would not have had that. Selfish? Maybe. But also, maybe people ought to be left to handle things in their own way, using available options.
FYI, observant Jews and Muslims have been using eco-friendly burial options for a long time now. Jews use a simple wooden coffin; Muslims use a shroud. No embalming, just straight-up burial and I think in Islam you have to do it within a day or two of death. You can actually order burial kits from some Muslim websites which include a shroud. Possibly there are websites that instruct you how to sew your own.
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