SUSTAINABLE BURIALS
Photo courtesy of AB Walker
This research material contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers; viewer discretion is advised.
This research is intended to be a comparative analysis on how environmental friendly are sustainable, aka Green, burial practices and its’ environmental impact, if any; intrinsically and when compared to conventional burial practices? The cost differences of burial practices are not an environmental consideration.
Conventional American burial practices began during the Civil War, 1861 - 65, to fulfill a desire to repatriate the bodies of fallen soldiers from the battlefields or exhumed from shallow graves far from their homes. This new burial practice incorporated embalming the deceased body with preservatives such as formaldehyde to slow the natural decomposition process of the deceased body for transport, most probably, by railroads to their final destination where, if possible, the deceased body could be viewed during funeral services by loved ones then interred close to their home.
It was customary up until the American Civil War for many cultures and religions to simply wash & shroud the deceased body for burial. This task was usually assigned to the female members of the deceased family or community whom would prepare the deceased body for appropriate display in a cool section of the house for viewing; sometimes ice or dry ice were used to keep the deceased body cool.
The unintended consequence of the modern embalming burial practice is that it forced people to relinquish their intimate experience with our mortality to be now controlled by the resource intensive commercialism of death.
Specialized training, licensing and equipment are required to work with the toxic embalming solution consisting of carcinogens such as methanol, glutaraldehyde and other toxic solvents; with formaldehyde as the main ingredient consisting of 37% of the embalming solution. Dyes are also used in the embalming solution to give the deceased body a lifelike appearance to their skin hue. Funeral workers exposed to higher rates of formaldehyde experience higher rates of rare cancers and respiratory illness compared to the general population.
The commercialization of death by the funeral industry consumes large amounts of natural resources for the funeral service and burial. Funeral expenses place some families in debt to purchase objects intended to accompany the deceased on Earth; or, in the afterlife. A typical conventional funeral service uses live resource intensive ornamental objects like exotic flowers that require fossil fuel powered refrigeration & fuel intensive airplane transportation to provide out-of-season flowers from international sources. The deceased body may be dressed in nonbiodegradable polyester clothing and plastic shoes. The deceased body is also layered in toxic cosmetic chemicals and perfumes. The most expensive and luxurious feature of the entire service is usually purchasing the casket. The resource carbon intensive caskets are constructed of large quantities of ornamental laquered wood and metal. Although not required by states law, mostly all cemeteries require that caskets be deposited inside rebar reinforced concrete or steel vaults. The resource intensive concrete used to build these vaults contribute to CO₂ emissions. The purpose of the concrete vaults are necessary to maintain the structure of the manicured cemetery lawns by preventing declination of the landscape. Even the vaults that are perceived to remain hermetically sealed for eternity eventually succumbs to the elements with most becoming containers filled with putrid water mixed with toxic embalming fluids and the stagnant breakdown of the buried materials; which have the potential to contaminate ground water. The resource intensive cemetery lawns require large quantities of water, pesticides, herbicides and the use of machinery run on fossil fuels to maintain the landscape.
According to the Funeral Alliance of Los Angeles (FCALA) annually 22,500 U.S. cemeteries nation wide bury approximately:
827,060 galllons of embalming fluid leaks in to our soil and waterways every single year
2,700 tons of copper & bronze caskets
90,000 tons of steel caskets
30 million board feet of hardwood caskets
1,600,000 tons of reinforced concrete vaults
14,000 tons of steel vaults
According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) 2023 Cremation and Burial Report “The U.S. cremation rate is expected to increase in the United States from 60.5% in 2023 to 81.4% by 2045.” However, a conventional burial may be still more socially accepted by some religions and cultures that requires an intact physical body for anticipation of a resurrection. Cremation is increasing in popularity in North America and the United Kingdom. The rise in cremation is due, in no order of importance to, cost considerations, shortage of cemetery burial space—especially in countries such as Indonesia & Japan, an increase in the public concern for the environment, an increasingly transient population, the convenience of the cremation process, changing consumer preferences and fewer religious prohibitions against the practice.
Green washing advertising by the funeral industry markets cremation as an environmentally friendly alternative. However, cremation is a major contributor to airborne pollution and the only thing green about it is its’ green house gas emissions generated during the combustion process. Cremation emissions includes, but are not limited to, heavy metals, carbon monoxide (Per single cremation 190 kg CO₂e), hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury . . . in to the atmosphere. In addition, cremation of embalmed corpse also emit formaldehyde which bonds with water in the atmosphere in the form of rain. Mercury is used in dental amalgam to seal cavities in teeth. The dental amalgam is made by mixing tin, Silver, Copper and ofcourse Mercury. While the European Union banned the use of dental amalgam by 2025; unless a Dentist can prove there is no other alternative for an individual. Despite the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warns that exposure to Mercury creates a health risk for all age groups, especially, pregnant & nursing women and others with medical conditions like impaired kidney function, the use of dental amalgam is still permitted.
The crematorium needs to maintain combustion temperatures > 1800° F / 98.2° C for up to 2 hours per cremation. Crematoriums are usually fueled by fossil fuels which also contribute to green house gas emissions.
Photo courtesy of The NFDA
The funeral industry markets the dust-to-dust return of cremation ash to the Earth as another green washed service for its’ customers. However, the sodium and calcium rich charred pulverized bones create a dense nutrient deficit layer that may harm delicate environments, trees and inhibit local plant growth. The runoff of the ash also has the potential to pollute water ways and facilitate the growth of algae.
SUSTAINABLE BURIAL OPTIONS
Obtaining ornamental flowers from native sources, or even succulents, reduce CO₂ emissions by reducing transportation and the need for refrigeration. Funeral service programing can be written on recycled papers to decrease carbon waste.
Even if a conventional burial is desired, there are natural alternatives to embalming which includes, but are not limited to, a plant / herb based bouquet, essential oils, refrigeration or dry ice.
A natural burial, aka Green burial, facilitates the natural cycle of the deceased body reverting to nature. Nothing that can inhibit this natural process is allowed in a natural cemetery such as embalming fluids and conventional synthetic, steel or wood finished caskets are allowed to take permanent residence. With the exception of a minimalist flat or round rock, with an epitaph, no monuments to immortalize the deceased are allowed. The location of the burial site can be logged with the aid of GPS coordinates. Even in various conventional cemeteries, like the U.S. National Cemetery, the use of GPS is increasing as old tombstones age in to unrecognition due to weathering. The energy in the deceased body that is returned to nature is recycled by the abundance of trees, flowers flourishing and wild life living in the natural cemetery.
Land secured for natural burial can be designated in perpetuity which can be grandfathered within existing land intended for conservation.
The deceased body can be entombed in a biodegradable woven casket made of wicker, bamboo or some other fast growing sustainable wood or wrapped in a shroud made of natural organic fabrics; or even better, a burial with no casket of any form. Unlike conventional burials where the deceased body is buried 5 to 6 feet, in natural cemeteries the corpse are buried 3 to 4 feet near the surface; where the microbes necessary for decomposition flourish the most in the soil.
Terramation (aka Natural organic reduction, human composting) is a process that transforms the deceased body in to nutrient rich soil. With the exception of an optional biodegradable garment for modest viewing of the deceased body by loved ones a resource intensive casket is not required. After washing the deceased body, it is fully covered in a compost consisting of organic plants, wood chips, straw and fungi which facilitate the condition decomposer microbes need to thrive and is then placed inside a chamber for approximately 30 to 40 days. At a certain stage of the decomposition cycle the bones are removed and mechanically broken down; while nonorganic medical implants, like metal hip replacements, are removed for metal recycling. No chemical preservatives, water or fossil fuels are used in the entire process. The natural microbes and bacteria coexisting in the digestive tract and organs creates the catalyst needed to decompose the body. Controlled temperatures of 130° F - 140° F are maintained to facilitate both decomposition and microbial life. The final product is then tested for the presence of E. coli, salmonella and mercury. The final stage is a nutrient rich (25-30 / 1 parts) ratio of carbon to nitrogen compost; which can be used as organic fertilizer around trees and garden. The pH of the compost is usually between 6.5 - 7 so it will not change the chemistry of the soil and plant life where it will be deposited. An average size adult male can generate up to 200 pounds of compost. At the time of this writing, in Germany there is no option for the family to take the remains home; all cremated remains must be deposited in to a cemetery.
Photo courtesy of TalkDeath
Aquamation (aka Alkaline Hydrolysis, water cremation) not to be confused with body decomposition, uses approximately 80 gallons of an alkaline solution consisting of 95% water (H2O) and 5% Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) to break the protein bonds that holds the body together. To accelerate the process, the alkaline solution is heated to 300° F - 350° F in a stainless steel chamber and agitated, then within 6 to 8 hours the soft tissues are deconstructed in to their inherent nontoxic elements: salts, peptides and amino acids, fats (soap) . . . The water based procedure is water intensive consuming an average of 1,300 liters of water per procedure. As a consolation, the sterile effluent can be discharged down the drain—the same way the conventional funeral industry discharges bodily effluent from the embalming process down the drain. The undissolved solids, such as the bleached white porous bones are dried for 24 - 72 hours, crushed in to fine particles in a cremulator, then returned to the family. Plastic and metal implants are also not dissolved with the latter recycled for their metals.
Aquamation requires one-tenth of the energy of a conventional burial and produces 90% less carbon emissions than cremation does; no emissions of greenhouse gas or mercury are emitted from the decomposition. A major advantage of aquamation is that no casket & land are required for an internment of a corpse.
The recently deceased body can serve a practical purpose “afterdeath” through organ donations of kidneys, eyes, lungs . . ., forensic research, medical training and research on body disposal impact on the soil, water and wildlife . . .
Besides the environmental benefits of a sustainable burial it also appears to be a response to a bigger social problem in our society. Our death denial culture promotes practices that prevent the deceased body from returning to nature—the life cycle. This death denial culture is exhibited in life through procedures designed to hide the natural appearance of the aging process through the use of beauty products or even cosmetic surgical procedures. Charlatans promote procedures of cryogenically preserving the body, at time of death, for rejuvenation at a later date when advances in medicine can cure whatever illness or disease that afflicted the person in their life.
We have to reconcile our divorce from the inevitability of death; how we experience it vicariously through the passing of others and eventually how we put it to rest. The way a person chooses to be buried is an extension of their belief and lifelong practice of environmental sustainability. A sustainable burial facilitates a reconnection with death that goes beyond simply the passing of an individual and encompasses our connection and respect of the environment, how we live on the Earth and eventually return to the soil in a way that does no harm to the environment.
Please share your thoughts or experiences in the Comment section below.
