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Living, breathing and burying green
Weddings aren’t the only events that have experienced a sustainability trend in recent years – burials and funerals are getting greener as well.
Our climate is warming, once-vibrant species are becoming endangered and carbon footprints continue to grow larger than Big Foot’s. As a result, more and more people are looking for ways to make their burials environmentally friendly.
Almost a quarter of respondents to a survey conducted by the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association and cited by the Des Moines Register were at least minimally interested in the prospect of green burial.
"People want to help facilitate a number of the environmental benefits that we’re trying to purport, such as reducing carbon emissions, conserving energy, eliminating toxic chemical usage, preserving and restoring habitat and protecting worker safety," said Joe Sehee, founder and executive director of the Green Burial Council, speaking to the newspaper.
The environmental costs associated with funereal proceedings – including embalming chemicals, metal caskets, cremation toxins and burial vaults – are not minimal and some want their funerals to reflect their environmental concerns and passions. Choosing caskets made of biodegradable material – like pine or reclaimed barn wood – can make a big difference. Having the burial site be in a natural setting or planting a tree by the grave can be easy yet effective as well. Programs distributed at the ceremony could be printed on recycled paper. Some even opt for burial shrouds in place of coffins or vaults; others elect to be buried at a shallower depth, allowing for easier decomposition and greater soil enrichment.
Some in the funeral business have responded to the increased interest in green funeral proceedings by creating cemeteries specifically designed for environmentally friendly burial. According to the Seattle Times, there are about 20 states that currently house cemeteries offering such plots. Ten states have cemeteries that are exclusively green.
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