As I discovered recently, traditional methods of handling dead humans are surprisingly serious sources of pollution and resource consumption. For example, burials require a dangerous toxin, formaldehyde, to embalm the body, and those pollutants remain in the corpse as it decays and then goes back into the Earth. Caskets, too, can be problematic in terms of using wood (usually not sustainably harvested), and then the graveyards where they all end up take up lots of land. What about cremation? Well, stoking those fires requires tremendous amounts of power–i.e., electricity, which of course usually comes from coal-fired power plants.

According to the statistics from Wikipedia, each year in America the following environmental nasties get sent below ground with our dearly departed:

• 30 million board feet (70,000 m³) of hardwoods (caskets);
• 90,272 tons of steel (caskets);
• 14,000 tons of steel (vaults);
• 2,700 tons of copper and bronze (caskets);
• 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete (vaults);
• 827,060 US gallons (3,130 m³) of embalming fluid, which most commonly includes formaldehyde.1

Knowing all this, Death becomes even scarier than usual for any eco-conscious person. But rather than face the great unknown with a heavy heart, rather than lie in the Earth without the ability to rest in peace, you can help preserve the planet even after you are gone. Yes, you can get a green burial.

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Green burials are now being performed in park- or forest-like settings. The more familiar green lawn with rows of stone markers is being replaced by a more natural setting, a meadow or a stand of trees. Green burials also forego many of the common contemporary conventions in favor of a simpler funeral and burial practive. Green burials do not use formaldehyde compounds to preserve the body, for example. Metal coffins, or coffins that use exotic and unsustainably harvested wood are also not allowed, as well as not using concrete burial vaults. Many of these steps are both more economical choices as well as avoiding consuming quantities of resources unnecessarily.

GreenSprings is a 100 acre site with meadows and woodlands in the Finger Lakes region of upstate new York that is one provider of green burial sites.

Greensprings offers a sustainable and beautiful alternative to conventional cemeteries. It is a place of meadows and woodlands, where you may choose native trees and shrubs for planting on your gravesite, helping to restore the land to it natural state and providing shelter and food for wildlife.

There are options for coffin selection as well that try to offer a greener choice. Ecopods are coffins made from "naturally hardened, 100% recycled paper." Being lighter than traditional coffins and having fewer materials used for a coffin is in line with many people's greener values. The company currently offers them in four color choices, plus silkscreen decoration, but a huge range of individual customization should be readily available as this market expands. The ecopod is suitable for burial or for cremation. However, the ecopod makers encourage people not to choose cremation because of the additional pollution it causes. It is also suitable for use in conjunction with a woodland burial.

In the UK, the Natural Death Centre brings many of these trends together with support for environmentally-friendly funerals and natural Burial Grounds. In the US, the Green Burial Council addresses similar issues on this side of the Atlantic. There are currently providers in nine states, though the website does not include direct links to any of them. The Green Burial Council has two standards for green burials. According to their site, "A "Natural Burial Ground" is a cemetery that encourages sustainable and ethical practices." Above and beyond that level, a "Conservation Burial Ground" also has a land conservation component.

Links:

Ecopod (via: BoingBoing and EcoGeek )
Natural Death Centre (UK)
Green Burial Council (US)
GreenBurials.org
GreenSprings Natural Cemetery