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Graves Go Green
Environmentally Friendly Burials Catch On
Environmentally Friendly Burials Catch On
We all know the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out. And apparently some ants may play pinochle on one’s snout. But what else is happening underground at the nation’s cemeteries? How do standard burial practices — which involve tons of steel, cement, and gallons of formaldehyde — affect our environment?
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Are traditional funeral practices really having such an effect that Americans need to reconsider their ways?
Harris uses the example of a typical cemetery to show that perhaps it is time to revise the standard funeral. When the average cemetery is picked apart, Harris said it looks more like a landfill than a bucolic resting place.
He writes, “Over time, the typical 10-ac [4 ha] swatch of cemetery ground, for example, contains enough coffin wood to construct more than 40 houses, nearly 1000 tons [907 tonne] of casket steel, and another 20,000 tons [18,144 tonne] of vault concrete. Add to that a volume of toxic formalin nearly sufficient to fill a small backyard swimming pool and untold gallons of pesticide and weed killer used to keep the cemetery grounds preternaturally green.”
So what’s an ecologically-minded person to do?
There are several green options to burial that Harris writes of in his book.
One includes cremation, which does contribute some pollution, but does less overall damage to the environment than a buried, embalmed body, Harris explained. There is the unique option of the memorial reef, which entails combining one’s ashes with concrete to form a small dome that is dropped into the ocean. The dome becomes a home for fish and other sea life.
There’s the backyard burial, in which a body can be wrapped in a sheet, and buried peacefully in one’s own backyard — no chemicals, no expense. Of course, one must check with local or state regulations regarding this type of burial.
“Backyard burials tend to be banned outright in urban and suburban areas. It’s more likely to be allowed in agricultural or certain rural zones, though, again, that depends on the exact county,” Harris explained.
Another idea growing in popularity is the green cemetery, or woodland burial, where bodies are buried in cardboard or simple pine coffins, without the use of any chemicals. Graves are spread out, preserving the landscape and allowing the surrounding soil to do its natural filtering job, absorbing the bacteria and fluids that leave the body after burial. Instead of elaborate stone grave markers, natural elements of the landscape — such as shrubs or trees — mark one’s grave. There’s no irrigation, and no use of pesticides or herbicides.
Ramsey Creek Preserve, a woodland, ecological cemetery in Westminster, S.C., buries 25 to 30 bodies per acre, Harris said, and locates burial sites well above the water table and where soils can serve as a natural filter. Walking through the cemetery, one might not even realize it is a cemetery — the landscape looks untouched, Harris said.
A potential bonus of woodland burials is the opportunity to preserve land from development. By taking a parcel of land threatened by developers and it turning it into a woodland burial site, using funds from the sale of plots, one might be able to in turn save the rest of the surrounding land. “It can be self-sustaining,” Harris said.
“I think it’s going to prove to be one of the important land-saving tools of our time,” Harris said of woodland burials. “The body is invited to return to the elements.”
…
Are traditional funeral practices really having such an effect that Americans need to reconsider their ways?
Harris uses the example of a typical cemetery to show that perhaps it is time to revise the standard funeral. When the average cemetery is picked apart, Harris said it looks more like a landfill than a bucolic resting place.
He writes, “Over time, the typical 10-ac [4 ha] swatch of cemetery ground, for example, contains enough coffin wood to construct more than 40 houses, nearly 1000 tons [907 tonne] of casket steel, and another 20,000 tons [18,144 tonne] of vault concrete. Add to that a volume of toxic formalin nearly sufficient to fill a small backyard swimming pool and untold gallons of pesticide and weed killer used to keep the cemetery grounds preternaturally green.”
So what’s an ecologically-minded person to do?
There are several green options to burial that Harris writes of in his book.
One includes cremation, which does contribute some pollution, but does less overall damage to the environment than a buried, embalmed body, Harris explained. There is the unique option of the memorial reef, which entails combining one’s ashes with concrete to form a small dome that is dropped into the ocean. The dome becomes a home for fish and other sea life.
There’s the backyard burial, in which a body can be wrapped in a sheet, and buried peacefully in one’s own backyard — no chemicals, no expense. Of course, one must check with local or state regulations regarding this type of burial.
“Backyard burials tend to be banned outright in urban and suburban areas. It’s more likely to be allowed in agricultural or certain rural zones, though, again, that depends on the exact county,” Harris explained.
Another idea growing in popularity is the green cemetery, or woodland burial, where bodies are buried in cardboard or simple pine coffins, without the use of any chemicals. Graves are spread out, preserving the landscape and allowing the surrounding soil to do its natural filtering job, absorbing the bacteria and fluids that leave the body after burial. Instead of elaborate stone grave markers, natural elements of the landscape — such as shrubs or trees — mark one’s grave. There’s no irrigation, and no use of pesticides or herbicides.
Ramsey Creek Preserve, a woodland, ecological cemetery in Westminster, S.C., buries 25 to 30 bodies per acre, Harris said, and locates burial sites well above the water table and where soils can serve as a natural filter. Walking through the cemetery, one might not even realize it is a cemetery — the landscape looks untouched, Harris said.
A potential bonus of woodland burials is the opportunity to preserve land from development. By taking a parcel of land threatened by developers and it turning it into a woodland burial site, using funds from the sale of plots, one might be able to in turn save the rest of the surrounding land. “It can be self-sustaining,” Harris said.
“I think it’s going to prove to be one of the important land-saving tools of our time,” Harris said of woodland burials. “The body is invited to return to the elements.”
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