Essay On Green Funerals

Many people are starting to understand the importance of decreasing their environmental impact on the world, during life and even after death. This is why green funerals are rapidly becoming a popular option. Understanding green funerals, their benefits, and their downsides can help you decide if they are right for you.

The Green Funeral Concept

Green funerals try to eliminate as many toxic or non-biodegradable items from a funeral as possible. As a result, they usually ban the use of embalming and require that all materials, such as caskets and shrouds, be made of natural material that will break down in the ground. Green funerals take place in green cemeteries, that are located in a natural area.

Typically, green funeral burial items must be made of items like:
By eliminating the dangerous chemicals involved in embalming, they help keep them from seeping into the soil. And by choosing biodegradable coffins, they help keep coffin waste from just sitting in the ground forever.

Another interesting benefit is the way that green funerals help decrease the amount of acreage used in a typical cemetery. New cemetery acreage took up 2.2 million acres between 1997 and 2001 alone. People who choose a truly green funeral are placed in a natural environment and avoid the sprawl and potential waste of a non-green cemetery.

Not Everyone Is Sold On The Concept

One green funeral horror story in the UK found a family upset with their father's funeral for a variety of reasons. One, his body was not available to be viewed, as it was not embalmed. Two, the cardboard coffin he had chosen seemed flimsy in retrospect and handling it made them nervous. Three, he was buried next to a pet cemetery, which struck them all as extremely