There is not much dust being created when the following are being buried each year; 1.6 million tons of concrete (vaults), 30+ million board feet of hardwood (caskets), 90 tons of steel (caskets), 17,000 tons of steel/copper (vaults), and 827,00 gallons of formaldehyde. If this isn’t bad enough, consider the gallons of herbicides, insecticides, and water that is used to maintain the land where these materials are buried. What is the alternative to traditional burial and cemeteries? Choosing eco-friendly burial options. The cycle of life doesn’t need to end with a burial in a sealed casket enclosed in a sealed vault. The final resting place doesn’t need to be marked with a large headstone. Financial and natural resources don’t need to be consumed by burial expenses.
One alternative to traditional burials includes choosing how to be buried, like in a shroud or a casket made of biodegradable products. Other alternatives include how a plot is marked. Final resting places can be marked with small markers and/or a native tree or bush. Magnetic nails and GPS coordinates provide a permanent record of plot location.
Eco-friendly cemeteries don’t need to be maintained like traditional cemeteries. They are allowed to grow naturally. Once newly planted trees and bushes are established, they rely on the normal rainfall of the area for growth. In death, those who are buried become guardians of the land because cemeteries cannot be sold to land developers.
Though there are just a few eco-friendly cemeteries, they are gaining in popularity. It is referred to as “dust-to-dust burial”. It is simple, old fashioned, and doesn’t destroy the environment. Eco-friendly burial has the added benefit of costing much less than traditional burials.
Eco-friendly burial is explained further in the video below.
