Has anyone heard of "Green Funerals" ? Do you think that this is they way of the Future?

Answer 1

I've heard of environmentally friendly cemetaries. Things like being buried in a cardboard box next to a tree so your decomposing corpse will provide it with nutrients. I think this sort of thing will become more popular in the future, but I don't think it will become the norm. We've had the same tradition of burying people in a massive coffin for a long, long time. Old habits are hard to break.

When I die I'll go for something like that though. My corpse might as well be good for something.

Answer 2

In general when speaking about green funerals we are referring to a meadow or woodland burial. Complemented by the use of a coffin made from biodegradable materials i.e. willow or chipboard. The green funeral option continues to grow in popularity and there are now many woodland burial sites all over the country. The environment of green burial grounds are kept as wild and as natural as possible. Memorials and headstones are generally not permitted, but often memorial trees can be planted to mark the grave.

Other aspects of an eco-funeral are the use of less vehicles - in turn use of less fuel.

No embalming is usually carried out and the coffin must be biodegradable.

Answer 3

Doesn't the Neptune Society bury ay sea by cremation?

[edit] People whose ashes were buried at sea
Steve McQueen 1930 - 1980
L. Ron Hubbard 1911 - 1986
Vincent Price 1911 - 1993
Jerry Garcia 1942 - 1995
Robert Mitchum 1917 - 1997
Jean Arthur 1900 - 1991
Ingrid Bergman 1915 - 1982
Rock Hudson 1925 - 1985
Janis Joplin 1943 - 1970 (cremated at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, and her ashes scattered into the Pacific ocean)
John F. Kennedy, Jr 1960 - 1999 (by the US Navy)
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole 1959 - 1997 (his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Mākua Beach)

You can have full body burials as well. This way you can feed the sea creatures if you want.

Answer 4

I was just thinking about this the other day. At first I thought burying people was dumb because they are taking up space, but then I thought that the cemetary is actually protecting the ground from getting paved and developed. I like the idea of cardboard caskets. I think a tree should be planted on top of the grave, so for every death of a person, there is the birth of a tree.

Answer 5

Yes I have. A funeral firm in Adelaide SA has recently launched a green funeral product. They are carbon neutral, plant a lot of trees for each funeral they do and encourage practical, minimal waste approaches to funerals. I believe they have only two coffins they offer both being environmentally friendly.
They are at ecofunerals.net

Cheers,
Col

Answer 6

If you want to be really green you could just skip the coffin altogether.

In some places in the Ozarks it is quite common to bury people at home, especially among families who cannot afford a cemetery plot. They were often buried without coffins or embalming, just stuck in the ground and marked with a home-made marker. We once rented a house that had a grave in the backyard. My sister tried to dig it up and the landlord who lived in the house next door saw her and freaked out because it was his grandfather and he was buried 3 feet under with no coffin.

Answer 7

Agree with Dana, in a cardboard coffin to return to the soil, is meant to be the greenest method. Tree planted nearby. Left to decompose and return to the soil. I understand a body may be buried on your own land but I would feel uncomfortable with this. Assume also that the grave must be hand dug to attain it's green criteria.

Whilst there are environmental costs in cremation, I personally, would prefer to be cremated, with just a cloth covering then left to blow in the wind at our local beach. No flowers, no headstone. This is not considered the greenest option but I consider for me it is a sensible compromise.

Answer 8

I'll write here what I wrote a month ago for a similar question. Personally, I like my idea, but apparently some other people didn't. I dunno why. Here's the link to the question I answered, if you want to see what others wrote...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aj_f1WUahG6Bi9H0n6JeDI7ty6IX?qid=20070702111100AAjuOps&show=7#profile-info-lYqzrDLKaa

"I'm a donor...use what's usable, tissues, organs, bones, whatever. Recycle me as much as possible. Then burn the rest and send my ashes to a company I've heard about but can't remember the name. They mix cremated ashes with concrete, engrave something like "this habitat made possible by..." or "in memory of..." and make artificial habit for coral reeves to build on. The finished product looks a little like those carpeted kitty houses for your cat to climb all over so she doesn't claw up your couch.

I need to find that company again. Saw 'em on a Discovery show a couple months ago.

I wanna grow corals when I'm dead!"

Answer 9

card board coffins seem like a neat Idea..you could decorate it to your liking before hand. Have dear ones write last words to you on it at the funeral. I want a vegie garden planted on my plot and each year the kids are to hand out my harvest to family member I didnt care for

Answer 10

Yes, as in Soilent green from that movie where instead of burying people they dropped them into a vat & later feed the people the results called Soiolent Green?