5 Funeral Supplies for Green Burials

The following is a guest post contributed by Mobi Medical Supply:

Green burials are designed to leave a minimal impact on the environment. Traditional burials take up vital space in the ground, and non-decomposing coffins stay there forever. If you want to make sure your burial is a ‘green’ one, you need to utilize eco-friendly mortuary science techniques using the right equipment. Here are five funeral supplies for green burials.

Biodegradable Caskets
Biodegradable caskets will break down over time, which means that the burial will not have a permanent impact on Mother Nature. They still provide protection for the body during the funeral, but eventually they fade away. Wicker is the most common material for this kind of coffin, but there are other alternatives available. If you want to avoid a casket altogether, you could use a cloth shroud instead.

No Embalming
This is not so much a funeral supply but a lack of one. If you want to have a true green burial, you cannot allow the body to go through embalming. This action is required for certain diseases or transporting a body across the state border. Any other time, you can let the body go without being embalmed. You will need to plan the funeral shortly after the passing in this case, and you may want to opt for a closed casket ceremony. Centuries from now though, your loved ones’ body will be part of the earth because of your decisions.

Efficient Lowering Devices
Old casket lowering devices dug into the ground and left heavy imprints around the burial mound. Modern ones do not require that much of a footprint, making the smallest mark on nature possible. When you choose a funeral home to work with, make sure they have modern equipment to handle your needs. If you own a funeral home, you may want to invest in new funeral home supplies to do your part in the green burial procession.

Plants
Why not use the burial plot as a small garden in honor of your loved one? You could plant a tree in place of the tombstone, or you could turn the dirt mound into a large flower pot. Not only does this add beauty to the cemetery, but it also honors the deceased in a special way. Fake flowers and granite don’t have the same impact.

Seeds
If you have a chance to stick around while the casket is being covered, throw some seeds in for grass, flowers, trees, fruit – whatever you think your loved one would like. If your mother loved making apple pie, plant some apple seeds on top of her casket. As these seeds grow, they will bring new life to the plot and restore the memories you have of your friend or family member.

Green burial is not a passing fad. It is a new perspective on traditional burials that could make a huge difference on the environment. With the right funeral home supplies on hand, you could honor someone close to you without making a dint in the ecosystem. Everyone wins!

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Alternative Funeral Ceremonies and Burials

The passing of a loved one is never easy.  When we lose someone we care about we set about memorializing them through a service.  A church, people gathered dressed all in black, an open casket, and somber music are all typical images that come to mind when we think of a traditional funeral.  It’s a typical scene, but it is also an idea that isn’t shared by everyone.

While some see the end of life as a solemn meant to mourn a passing, others believe that it should be seen as a celebration.  Not to celebrate the end of a life, but to celebrate all that was accomplished while the person was around on this earth, and to honor them as they had lived.

Sometimes an alternative style funeral celebration may be seen as controversial or even offensive.  Often, something that goes against established traditions raises eyebrows.  At their core though, these alternative types of services have the one most important thing in common with a traditional celebration, which is to honor the passing of a cherished person.

Living Funeral

The living funeral was an idea that received popularity from the novel Tuesdays with Morrie.  The simple concept is that a person, usually one who is terminally ill or otherwise knows they have very little time left, hosts a celebration where friends and family gather to say their final farewells.

These are often held in an environment of the host’s choosing.  They also tend to be a warmer, familiar, and more relaxed occasion as people share stories, laugh, and cry, having an opportunity to say their final farewells when the person is still around to hear them.

The Motorcycle Funeral

For anybody that has been a long time rider of the two-wheeled motorized method of travel, a motorcycle becomes an integral part of their lives.  A motorcycle funeral may involve a memorial ride with surviving family, friends, and members of the deceased’s motorcycle club honoring the fallen with one last ride.

In the case of one motorcycle enthusiast, his viewing involved his body riding his motorcycle one last time.  It’s certainly strange to see, but for his closest friends and family, they wanted to see him one last time, not as he died, but as he lived.

A Green Service

The impact of losing a loved one is a tremendous event and it is certainly no less of an impact on our environment.  An article that appeared in 2008 in Scientific American referenced a study in National Geographic that highlighted the environmental impact that funerals are having.  Millions of feet of wooden boards, thousands of tons of steel, hundreds of thousands of gallons of embalming fluid, these are all being kept underground.

An eco-conscious person is not interested in leaving a lasting impression.  For them, the ideal service is a modest and reserved one.  Only the closest people would attend, working diligently to reduce the carbon footprint of the event.  A green burial often involves avoiding cremation and using a casket made of biodegradable material.  The belief here lies in the idea of returning everything to the earth from which we originally came.

Contemporary society has no shortage of ways to see the passing of our loved ones.  Some may seem strange and maybe even offensive to certain sensibilities at times.  Remember though, that for the loved ones who still remain, their choice of service reflect how they feel is best to honor and respect those that are no longer with us.

By Dennis Aimes

Dennis Aimes is a husband, father and part-time super hero. When he isn’t busy saving his wife from spiders he works as a writer and insurance advisor specializing in funeral plan insurance from GIO

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Five Advantages of Eco Funerals and Burials

Even funerals are becoming green these days, which speaks to the environmental concerns of society in general. You’d think that death would be the final frontier, where issues like being friendly to the environment don’t really matter anymore, but you’d be wrong. Funerals can actually be bad for the environment because of all of the embalming fluids that are used on dead bodies. While cremation is becoming far more popular, many people still see their bodies as a vessel for their souls, at least while they’re on Earth. That’s why traditional funerals and religious rites are still the norm. However, if going green appeals to you, here are five advantages of eco funerals and burials.

No Need for Embalming Fluids

A so-called green burial would not require the use of any embalming fluids. Embalming fluids have been known to preserve the human body’s remains a lot longer than what is necessary or natural. As such, they actually contribute to a certain degree of environmental pollution, especially over the long term. A green burial would not pollute the environment due to its focus on all-natural processes and is often chosen for eco funerals.

More Room for Natural Growth

A traditional cemetery is a site that really does not permit for much natural growth at all. A green burial would reverse that problem because the ground won’t be perennially disturbed in order to place coffins into the ground. Further, there also won’t be any headstones that are required, thereby leaving more of the natural environment that only works to promote more natural growth.

Everything’s All-Natural

The big problem with traditional funerals is that they aren’t friendly to the environment because of the use of unnatural ingredients like embalming fluids, a metal casket and concrete burial vault, and so on. Eco funerals, on the other hand, simply allows for the body to recycle and decompose in the most natural way possible. The body’s interment in the soil will not impede decomposition in any way.

Eco Funerals and Burials Still Look Nice

Some people cringe at the thought of a green burial because they believe it won’t be as respectful or ceremonial as a traditional burial, but nothing is further from the truth. Instead of a headstone, a tree or native flat rock will be utilized to mark the burial, and inscriptions are still an option. In addition, vegetation around the burial site can be pre-chosen. People often prefer to visit their deceased loved one’s at a natural burial ground because it is much more peaceful due to its park-like setting.

Easier for Families

Loved ones who visit a proper cemetery tend to get depressed because of the reminder of death all around them. Green burials take place in sites that can double as nature preserves, which means that visiting loved ones have the option of even picnicking or hiking in the area when they visit their dead loved ones.

These are the five advantages of eco funerals and burials. These types of funerals and burials have been around for many centuries. However, it was only in modern times that they have been disrupted by new methods like embalming, metal caskets, vaults, and other practices that are harmful to the environment. Eco funerals are definitely an alternative to traditional Western burial methods, which some may find interesting and worth looking into more.

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