Are you committed to living green? Have you considered, then, the option of green funerals? A green funeral is one of the final decisions you can make to exit in a thoughtful manner and completing the process of living green by minimizing your impact on the environment.
Green funerals are a dignified way of dealing with one’s final rest while considering the environmental impact of traditional interment.
Not long ago, green burial was a challenging option because many traditional funeral homes and funeral directors opposed it. Today, more green choice is being made available to funeral services as a consequence of public preference. Ask your funeral director about green options or actively seek out funeral homes that provide these choices.
Make sure that your loved ones are aware that your final wishes are to return to the earth as naturally as possible. To ensure this, put a clause in your will detailing your choices.
Green funerals can be difficult to organize. Many U.S. cemeteries have regulations dictating the use of concrete vaults and coffin materials. Their rules make returning to nature via green funerals more challenging. Consequently, you might want to choose cremation instead of burial.
Although cremation might seem counter-intuitive to green disposal, this isn’t necessarily so. Today’s crematory standards are quite high when it comes to emissions. Even though burning something does create a pollution of sorts, if you remove the toxic substances by skipping the embalming, you risk causing less harm to the environment. When comparing the efficiency of cremation to burial where concrete vaults, hardwood coffins, and other regulations requiring the use of natural resources and land space are enforced, cremation might be a sensible choice for green funerals.
One thing that you can do to significantly reduce the environmental impact of your final rest, is to skip the embalming process, have a closed casket funeral ceremony and a quick burial. This is often a preferred procedure for green funerals. Embalming uses highly toxic agents to slow the body’s decomposition. This is done mainly for viewing and isn’t absolutely necessary for a closed casket service, especially if burial is undertaken soon after death. By skipping the embalming process, you avoid release of toxins, either through the soil or in the atmosphere.
Another choice you might make for green funeral is to have the casket built from bamboo, jute, or even cardboard. These materials degrade quicker than hardwood. You even have the choice of using a biodegradable urn, if you wish.
You can also opt to leave behind a living marker instead of one made of quarried stone. Plant a tree or bush to mark the site of a loved one’s burial location. There are even online memorial options where a tribute is posted in memory.
Green funerals feature programs made from recycled paper, organically grown flowers, and carpooling from the funeral service to final site. Any step that you can take to lessen the impact of the event upon the environment is a green initiative.
Given all the options and choices available in green funerals, it is probably best to have these services pre-arranged. A traditional funeral can be difficult enough for family members and friends to put together without pre-planning. The alternatives and decisions involved in creating green funerals speak strongly to the need of having all the plans made beforehand.
If you are interested in learning more about ways to go green, save money and help the planet, go here to receive a FREE green living tip delivered to your email inbox daily: FreeTipsForGoingGreen.com
Tags: funeral, green, green burial, green funeral, green funerals
