From Guest Blogger Devin Morrissey: The Environmental Impact of Burial Methods and Finding Green Alternatives

We often think about the ways that our lifestyle choices can either positively or negatively affect the planet, but have you considered how your burial arrangements might make an impact? Traditional burials pose a number of ecological concerns, and even cremations can’t be called a truly eco-friendly alternative. Let’s dig deeper (ha! good one! -ed) into the issue:

Traditional Burial

It’s an unfortunate truth: There is no question that the most popular method of interring bodies is also one of the most damaging to the environment. Preserving and sealing bodies in caskets and burying them under the ground damages the environment in a multitude of ways:

The Embalming Process: With the traditional burial process, embalming is a necessary part of the procedure. Pumping a body full of formaldehyde, as well as other toxic chemicals, has a profoundly negative effect on the environment. These carcinogens, which can be fatal to humans in high concentrations, are placed in the ground via burial at a rate 800,000 gallons per year in U.S., according to Business Insider.

Casket Materials: Traditional burials require coffins, and these vessels use a lot of materials. Each year, the States use over 30 million feet of hardwood boards for caskets. That’s the equivalent of roughly 4 million acres of forest. In addition they require 5.4 million pounds of copper and bronze, over 100,000 tons of steel, and over 1.6 million pounds of concrete. Green construction materials, such as sustainable concrete, can reduce the ill effects, but there’s no doubt that caskets cost the environment a lot.

Land Usage & Maintenance: Cemeteries require space and maintenance, which both consumes land and often involves the use of excess water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. Millions of acres of land are used for cemeteries, and the environmental cost is higher than you might think. Some cemeteries rely on solar energy to reduce electricity costs and decrease their carbon footprint, though the effects of using this vast amount of land for this purpose can’t be completely negated.

Cremation

A popular alternative to traditional burials is cremation. In fact, over a third of the dead in the U.S. are cremated. Because cremations demand less space, they are considerably better for the environment. However, cremation comes with its own set of environmental concerns:

Wasteful Embalming: Unlike traditional burials, it is not strictly necessary to embalm a corpse prior to a cremation. A body can be stored in the short term via simple refrigeration; this is an excellent way of avoiding affecting the environment through the chemicals required for embalming. Nevertheless, many bodies are still embalmed prior to cremation, leading to needless pollution.

Emissions: For a single cremation, most crematorium furnaces require the same amount of fuel as approximately two full tanks of gas for an SUV. In addition to these emissions, toxic metals in human bodies decompose when they are cremated, the gases of which are released into the atmosphere. Among the emissions are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, mercury vapor, and many carcinogens from organic compounds. Unfortunately, filtering these emissions have almost no effect on the toxins emitted. Rely on newer, more fuel-efficient crematorium systems to minimize emissions.

Green Alternatives

In response to these concerns listed above, radically eco-friendly burial practices have begun to garner attention across the globe. There are a wide variety of options, from being cryogenically frozen to space burials. However, coming back down to Earth, there are a few practical options that are gaining serious traction. These two practices, as covered by Live Science, are:

Natural Burials: The movement towards natural burials — simply placing a body in a biodegradable wrap or casket before burying them — started gaining increased acceptance in the late ‘90s. The lack of the use of toxic embalming fluids means this method of burial is substantially more eco-friendly than its traditional counterpart. The fact that biodegradable materials are used for caskets further reduces the negative impact.

Freeze-Drying: A substantially rarer option for a burial, freeze-drying is a method invented by marine biologist Susanne Wiigh-Masak. It consists of submerging a body in liquid nitrogen, which makes the body extremely brittle. Vibrations are used to shake the body apart, and a filter removes any fillings or implants. The remains are buried in a grave, and they work as an effective compost, just as bodies do in natural burials.

Of course, for those living in the U.S., your options for a burial can vary by state. Whichever method you want to try, or whether you want to scatter or bury remains, state regulations may complicate the process. Research these stipulations thoroughly before setting burial plans.

These are some of the ecological concerns that accompany burial options. Whether you choose to have a traditional burial or are cremated, there are negative environmental effects. However, there are a rising number of options for those looking to avoid leaving such an impact. Environmentally aware individuals dedicate a great deal of time toward reducing their impact on the environment. Why should that sense of obligation perish after death? As more eco-friendly burial options become available, we will be able to exit the world in a greener way.