Mainstream funerals have significant impact on the environment, from the overuse of endangered woods, the toxic finishes on the coffins, the cement vault, embalming chemicals, chemically treated lawns, and pesticide-covered flowers. The Natural Burial Cemetery explains that each year US cemeteries bury an estimated 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid, 90,272 tons of steel (caskets), 2,700 tons of copper and bronze (caskets), 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete (vaults), 14,000 tons of steel (vaults) and 30-plus million board feet of hardwoods.
North America has the most regimented and regulatory stance on funerals in the world. Mainstream funerals have become so commercialized and institutionalized that it is difficult to have anything other than the ‘normative’ non-sustainable funeral. The good news is that more and more green funeral services and options are being offered around the world. Cynthia Beal from the Natural Burial Company believes the timing is now right for green funerals due to increasing environmental awareness and a desire to conserve resources for future generations.
Body Shop founder Anita Roddick is perhaps the most famous deceased whose family opted for a green funeral. In 2007, Roddick’s funeral included a coffin made from biodegradable plant material and a crematorium with mercury-reducing filters.
Funeral Costs
The average North American funeral costs between $5,000 to $10,000 but this generally does not include the cemetery plot nor monument. The London Free Press newspaper reports American funeral homes generate more than $11 billion in revenue each year. Many of these high funeral costs are incurred from the funeral home services, casket and the burial place. Natural or woodland funerals in the UK have been found to cost up to 80% less than traditional funerals.
Embalming Fluids
Each year in the USA enough embalming fluid is used to fill eight Olympic–size swimming pools according to Joe Sehee, founder of the Green Burial Council. Up until the 1990s, embalming fluid contained arsenic. Today embalming fluids are made of a compound of formaldehyde, methanol, ethanol and other solvents. The use of embalming fluids is not regulated by the government in much of North America, however the use of embalming fluids are often recommended by funeral homes to make the deceased look more ‘healthy’ or ‘life-like’.
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogenic. The American National Cancer Institute reports several of their studies have found ‘…anatomists and embalmers, professions with potential exposure to formaldehyde, are at an increased risk for leukemia and brain cancer compared with the general population.’ The green funeral movement protests the use of embalming fluid on the basis that it is unnecessary, leaches from the body into the landfill and waterways, and during the decomposing process the formaldehyde oxidizes into formic acid.
Anyone with green pretensions should think twice about cremation, which pollutes the atmosphere with dioxin, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide.
Misuse of Land
A commonly heard anti-burial slogan in the UK is ‘Keep the land for the living’. Increasingly in many cities around the world graveyards are some of the few green spaces left. Land is being claimed for development and it is becoming difficult to find land that can be designated for graveyards.
In the UK woodland burials encourage the use of trees as grave markers. Woodland burials provide natural settings for burial and work to protect and reforest the land. No embalming fluid is used in the bodies, and no pesticide or fertilizer is used on the land. Bodies are buried in simple compostable shrouds of non-toxic biodegradable coffins. Unlike traditional graveyards, protecting and preserving the land is part of the grieving process. There are currently more than 200 woodland burial sites in the UK.
Cremation
Environmentalists seem divided on what is the more sustainable option — cremation or burial. However, one thing is clear, when you eliminate all the toxic chemicals from either burial or cremation, the process gets a bit greener. ERB & Good Family Funeral Home, a Canadian funeral business, offers advice on their website about cremation; ‘anyone with green pretensions should think twice about cremation, which pollutes the atmosphere with dioxin, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide.’
Eliminating coffins made with toxic glues and varnishes will eliminate a significant quantity of pollutants from the air. In fact, most green funeral advocates believe destroying wood coffins during the cremation process is unnecessary and wasteful. Removing embalming fluid and toxic wood coffins will also further eliminate pollutants generated in the cremation process. The body can be placed in a simple cardboard coffin, pine box, natural fiber coffin or shroud, depending on the crematorium. Increasingly, special filters are being used on crematoriums to limit the release of pollutants into the atmosphere.
Family members can purchase carbon offsets to offset the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the burning of the body. Professor Roger Short, an Australian scientist reported to the Agence France-Presse that the average Australian male produces about 50kgs of carbon dioxide during the cremation process. This figure does not include the fuel used to burn the body nor the carbon dioxide produced from incinerating the coffin.
Coffins and Burial Urns
Environmentalists are continuing to look at ways to cut down on the unnecessary use of wood. Wood is a non-sustainable resource and it is estimated that less than 20% of the world’s remaining forests are intact. Even though green funerals represent a growing trend, many individuals still opt to bury or cremate their deceased in exotic woods sourced from vulnerable locations like the Amazon Rainforest. Green funeral advocates suggest using simple, non-chemically treated sustainable-farmed wood boxes or coffins and urns made from biodegradable materials. If using wood is an important part of the grieving process, consider opting for wood certified by the Canadian Stewardship Council.
Coffin and urn makers are looking for more sustainable options with coffins and burial urns constructed from recycled newspaper, cardboard, water hyacinth or banana leaf. Some of the green coffins and urn styles are lined with unbleached organic cotton, and urns are impregnated with flower seeds or tree seeds. Moreover, coffins are becoming much more streamline with new shapes to cut down on unnecessary waste like the Ecopod, a kayak shaped biodegradable coffin made in the UK.
Planting A Tree
Trees are a long lasting gift to the world because of their ability to take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. When a tree reaches maturity it is able to process about 48lbs of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. Although a tree’s ability to process CO2 varies greatly depending on size, species, age, location and soil. Trees remain one of the cheapest, most effective ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Many North American organizations and municipal governments offer tree donation programs to help replenish North American urban forests. Donated trees can be made in the name of a deceased loved one.
Resources
ERB & Good Family Funeral Home: http://www.greenfunerals.ca/
Forest Stewardship Council: http://www.fsccanada.org/
Grave Matters: http://www.gravematters.us/
Green Burial Council: http://www.greenburialcouncil.org/
GreenSprings Natural Cemetery: http://naturalburial.org/
Natural Burial Company: http://www.naturalburialcompany.com/
The Center For Natural Burial: http://www.naturalburial.coop/
The Natural Death Centre: http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk/
UK Green Funerals and Woodland Burials: http://www.uk-funerals.co.uk/green-funerals.html
Coffins & Urns
Biodegradable Coffins: http://www.ecopod.co.uk/
Cardboard Coffins: http://www.cardboardcasket.com/
Daisy Coffins: http://www.daisycoffins.com/
Natural Pine Coffins: http://www.eco-coffins.com/
Green Pages
The Eco-pod coffin is made from naturally hardened, 100% recycled paper. Eco-pod coffins are made from 100% ecologically sound materials, free from toxics. The Eco-pod is perfect for green burial or cremation: http://www.ecopod.co.uk/
Daisy Coffins in the UK offers simple biodegradable coffins made from water hyacinth and banana leaf. Urns are handmade from wood or biodegradable plant matter. Available anywhere in the UK within 24 hours: http://www.daisycoffins.com/
The Uitvaart Museum (Museum of Exit) in the Netherlands is one of the world’s best museums exploring rituals of death and grieving: http://www.totzover.nl
Be A Tree: The Natural Burial Guide For Turning Yourself Into a Forest by C.A Beal, is the definitive guide to green funerals: http://www.beatree.com/
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