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How Green Was My Dying?

   (an article by Cynthia Maxwell exploring the environmental issues of burial and      cremation,   written for earthbeds.com.au)

      It’s a sad fact that for many of us who have attempted to ‘tread lightly upon the earth’, our deaths and subsequent disposal of our remains means our final footprint will be one of our heaviest.

   For years I’ve happily carried the future image of my old, dead body, deliciously composting away, feeding the soil, nurturing life. Or the alternative of my ashes mixed with petals, strewn over water or earth, settling as a nourishing sprinkle of minerals.
But it’s not really like that.

   The way our bodies are prepared and the processes of burial or cremation can not only contribute to greenhouse gases but also toxify the soil.
Mark Blackham, Director of National Burials, New Zealand, says that research into crematorium emissions showed people were turned into 46 different pollutants, including:
                carbon monoxide
                mercury
                dioxin
                cadmium
                chromium
                hydrogen chloride etc.

A 1999 report from San Francisco’s Public Works Department found that crematoria were the third-highest contributor of mercury in the region.
Apparently the nitrous oxides emitted in the cremation process stay in the atmosphere for up to 100 years. And the mercury from our amalgam tooth fillings, and the other heavy metals released, cause acid rain!
‘Green’ or natural burial is one of the most popular and increasingly available options for an environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.
Natural burial began in the UK with the opening of a green burial site in Carlisle in 1993 and now there are over 200 across the British Isles.
According to Mike Jarvis, of the UK Natural Death Centre, the green sites look more like wild meadows and because the issues of toxic remains are dealt with differently the green burial spaces can become nature reserves or recreational areas which are pleasant to be in.

The marking of individual gravesites is usually accomplished by the planting of a shrub or tree or even an electronic chip.
Australia is only just beginning to explore the options of green burials and creative funerals.
A Natural Death Centre has recently evolved in northern NSW and creative, environmentally friendly coffins and caskets are becoming available through companies such as earthbeds™.
There’s a lot to think about and more research to be done as well as devising more eco-friendly options for Australians dealing with burial and cremations.

Here at earthbeds™ we will do our best to bring you information, create and supply environmentally sound products and to support change in the funeral industry so that you can make informed and conscious choices when the need arises.

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