By Annagh Devitt, Winter 2021.

Due to the ever-looming climate disaster, individuals are beginning to change their habits and alter their decisions to go green both in life and in death. So called “Green Burials” offer an alternative to the recently departed that allow them to naturally return to the environment rather than preserving their bodies as done in traditional funerals.

One report cited that each year “20 million feet of wood, 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluids, 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete, 17,000 tons of copper and bronze, and 64,500 tons of steel” are put into the ground due to traditional burial practices. [1] The large excess of resources, especially for funerals, are mainly a result of cosmetic reasons rather than necessity. For example, most states only require bodies to be buried in simple wooden caskets while requiring funeral homes to accept the casket that a family brings if they choose to do so. However, funeral homes often push their own more expensive caskets as a means to honor the deceased. These more expensive coffins are often made of more non-decomposable materials and pose no other benefit rather than the aesthetic appeal. Furthermore, the embalming process that prepares a body for an open viewing has severe environmental impacts. During the process, mercury and carbon dioxide leak into the atmosphere while formaldehyde can leach into the ground water as the body decays. [2] Traditional funerals not only stop positive impacts on the environment from preventing body decay but also introduce harsh carcinogens.

The environmental impacts of a traditional funeral are well known, leading some to opt for the perceived “greener” choice of cremation. However, even this method poses a significant environmental burden. A large amount of fuel is required for the process which produces nearly 535 tons of CO2 per person cremated, equivalent to a 500-mile car ride. [3]

The limited options with no good green choice have led some to revive centuries old burial techniques. Green or natural burials use methods common in the 1800s to allow bodies to naturally decompose. Instead of preserving the body with formaldehyde, dry ice is used which allows for an open casket without harsh chemicals. Additionally, the plots themselves are hand dug which means excavators and concrete reinforcements are not necessary.  Finally, only a simple wooden casket or linen sheet is used to prevent burying undegradable materials and increase the decay rate of the body once in the ground. [2]

For many, such a green funeral is more than a cost-effective or green alternative. Advocates argue that it’s a change to how death is viewed. Kimberly Campbell, manager of one of the first green cemeteries in the US asks, “How do you want your death to impact the world around you? Something good can come from your death” referring to the positive impacts a decaying body has on the soil. [2] Campbell uses such positives to reinvent the traditional cemetery by treating it as a nature conservatory rather than a plot of land with headstones. This approach has additional bonuses for the surrounding land such as providing space for native species and for people to enjoy. However, such an approach is actually illegal in most states. Recomposition, or turning the body into usable soil, is only legal in Oregon and only as of May 2020. In fact, there are a whole host of laws that prevent the operation of many green funerals. The laws, nearly as old as the funeral practices themselves, are meant to protect families from scam funeral directors.[4] However, today these laws can prevent families from fulfilling their loved one’s wishes. For example, many states require that bodies be embalmed 24 hours after death or that there is a paved road to the cemetery, both antithetical to the green cemeteries. [5] However, other green methods—while still limited in access—are available.  

Alkaline hydrolysis, or water cremation, was originally invented by a farmer who wanted to create fertilizer from his dead livestock. In the early 2000s, it became popular among pet owners as a low-cost cremation, eventually being applied to human bodies in 2005. The process works in a similar way to a traditional cremation however the body is completely submerged in water which is heated through high pressure, decomposing the body with no contribution to greenhouse gases unlike a traditional cremation. The lower emissions come from the proteins and amino acids of a body being broken down and released into the water instead of being burnt and released as gases into the air. [6] The water, rich in a number of nutrients, is typically dumped down a drain but has promising potential for use as a fertilizer. However, this practice is also unfortunately banned in 30 states.[7]

While some laws stem from old traditions, many are also a result of the uninformed belief that dead bodies carry diseases. One of the most common worries surrounding green funerals is that burying the dead in such a manner will affect the groundwater, which has been shown to be false. As the funeral consumers alliance reports, [block quote] “there are no studies showing a public health threat from unembalmed bodies. There is no evidence of rampant disease in the countries around the world (almost all of them) where embalming is seldom, if ever, practiced. In addition, we’ve never seen one instance where a funeral industry member provided a journalist with any evidence to support the claim that unembalmed corpses pose a health threat.” [end block quote] [8] However, traditional burials and funeral homes often do affect the groundwater with harsh chemicals like formaldehyde. While green funerals seem like a better option in terms of public health, their wide adoption is far more difficult to accomplish.

A part of combating such practices is greater public education about after-death treatments. Most people do not realize that there are other options besides burial and cremation and it is often difficult to spread such a message. Confronting a grieving family with greener options is a difficult conversation to have, especially considering the amount of legal hopes one has to jump through. In fact, most people become aware of green funerals through fulfilling the dying wishes of their loved ones. Only then are they confronted with the outdated laws which only make their task more difficult and take upon the task of advocacy and reform. Unfortunately, more green funerals being denied on outdated laws are what it might take for a universal adoption.

[1] Vatomsky, Sonya. 2018. “Thinking About Having a ‘Green’ Funeral? Here’s What to Know.” New York Times, March 22, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/smarter-living/green-funeral-burial-environment.html

[2] Blakemore, Erin. 2016. “Could the Funeral of the Future Help Heal the Environment?” Smithsonian Magazine, February 1, 2016. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/could-funeral-future-help-heal-environment-180957953/#:~:text=Each%20after%2Ddeath%20action%20comes,and%20mercury%20into%20the%20atmosphere

[3] Little, Beky. 2019. “The environmental toll of cremating the dead.” National Geographic, November 5, 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/is-cremation-environmentally-friendly-heres-the-science#close

[4] Brown, Alex. 2019. “More People Want a Green Burial, but Cemetery Law Hasn’t Caught Up.” PEW Trusts, November 20, 2019. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2019/11/20/more-people-want-a-green-burial-but-cemetery-law-hasnt-caught-up

[5] Northwoods Casket Company. 2014. “Natural Biral and The Law: Are there Legal Matters Regarding Natural Burial?” October 27, 2014. https://www.northwoodscasket.com/northwoodscasket/2014/10/27/natural-burial-the-law-are-there-legal-matters-regarding-natural-burial

[6] Atkin, Emily. 2018. “The Fight for the Right to be Cremated by Water.” The New Republic, June 14, 2018. https://newrepublic.com/article/148997/fight-right-cremated-water-rise-alkaline-hydrolysis-america

[7] Panecasio, Steph. 2020. “The misunderstood funeral tech that’s illegal in 30 states.” Cnet, June 1, 2020. https://www.cnet.com/features/the-misunderstood-funeral-tech-thats-illegal-in-30-states/

[8] Funeral Consumers Alliance. “Dead Bodies and Disease: The ‘Danger’ That Doesn’t Exist.” https://funerals.org/?consumers=dead-bodies-disease-danger-doesnt-exist/