For the past ten years, natural burial has found a resurgence in the United States following a trend begun in the United Kingdom from the 1990s. What used to be a standard method of burial for thousands of years, and is still practiced by a large percentage of cultures worldwide, is now being sought by the environmentally-conscious.
What is a Natural Burial?
In a natural burial, also known as a green burial, the body is returned to nature in a biodegradable casket or shroud for ease in decomposition. A burial vault is not used in natural burials. Often vegetation such as a memorial tree can be planted on or near the burial. A flat rock or non-intrusive marker with the deceased’s information inscribed upon it may be placed next to the grave.
The natural burial sites are also known as woodland cemeteries, memorial nature preserves or green burial grounds. They form a natural preserve that feeds and beautifies the environment, conserving and protecting the land. Natural burials keep harmful chemicals out of the soil, encouraging natural plant growth, and attracting birds and other woodland animals. Some traditional cemeteries are also beginning to offer internment without vaults or liners in a more natural fashion.
Green Burials Save Natural Resources
Returning the body back to the earth in a more natural way saves natural and land resources. In the United States there are approximately 22,500 cemeteries. Each year these cemeteries bury in the earth along with the bodies:
- 30 million board feet (70,000 m³) of hardwoods for caskets
- 90,272 tons of steel for caskets
- 14,000 tons of steel for vaults
- 2,700 tons of copper and bronze for caskets
- 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete for vaults
- 827,060 US gallons (3,130 m³) of embalming fluid
The use of embalming fluids is contrary to the purpose of a green burial. Rather than embalm, refrigeration and dry ice can be used to preserve the body for a short period of time prior to burial. Formaldehyde contained in embalming fluid is a toxic material that is a known carcinogen. Transportation of a body on commercial airlines, however, requires embalming by law.
Cremation, which has grown in popularity, still requires a great deal of fuel to burn the bodies and releases harmful chemicals into the air. The average cremation process releases about 110 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is still a better alternative than a traditional burial in terms of caring for the environment.
If you decide to be green in the afterlife, you will live on in the memorial tree that you plant by your grave.
Sources:
Forest of Memories: Resources and Information Supporting Green Burial in North America . Accessed 16 Mar 2010
Sizemore, Everett. How to Be Green in the Afterlife. Accessed 16 Mar 2010
GOG101
Paula I. Nielson - Paula I. Nielson, Ph.D., holds credentials and interests in anthropology, archaeology, religion, the Middle East and Asia.
