Imagine you or your loved one buried simply, in a plain pine box without the use of toxic embalming fluid and laid to rest in a place in harmony with the landscape.
Memorial Cemeteries and Mortuaries, a funeral company in Utah, is the first of its kind in the state. The company has so far set aside one area, apparently one with quite a view, for the green burials, which are complete with biodegradable caskets. The unique burial services have been available since September, but no one has signed up for them as of yet.
"There is a lot of chatter, a lot of questions," said memorial's general manager, Brandon Burningham. "On our blog, it's one of our most popular topics. It's so new to Utah, people are trying to find out what it is."
Embalming fluid is not used in a green burial; bodies are preserved with refrigeration instead. Caskets are made of woven sea grass or willow, poplar or pine. Graves are dug by hand, and grave markers are brass plaques, flat stones, or newly planted trees. No concrete burial vaults are used. Green burials with Memorial Cemeteries and Mortuaries cost one half to two-thirds less than traditional funerals.
Green burial grounds must pass specific standards for use. This particular one has been approved by the New Mexico-based Green Burial Council, which has established green standards for cemeteries, funeral providers and burial products. One hundred spaces have been set aside for green burials, with the option to expand if / when necessary.
A biodegradable urn is also available, which will dissolve if buried.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Wow......no embalming fluid, they only use refrigeration. That must has to be tough in the summer time.
January 16th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Hello! You stopped by Endangered Spaces blog and asked that I move the ecocarders badget up to under the EC.
It started out right under my entrecard widget. However, the list is out of date and not of much use. Do you plan on updating?
January 16th, 2009 at 3:17 am
Well, it will be a relief to be buried without all kinds of gunk in me. Hopefully the whole burial industry will go green. It would not be good form for one's last "action" on the planet to be a polluting one.
January 16th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Green burials brings to the world innovative idea, And I am sure that lot of people support this idea,
January 16th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
That's a green death if ever I saw one. In Sweden it's possbile to be freeze dried (no kidding) and buried in a paper coffin - the green point of this is that the body disolves within six months instead of eighteen (or more, depending on the soil quality in the burial yard).
January 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
So ... did they send you a sample of one of these babies in the mail, too? lol
January 17th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
nice coffin... but they should think of make the fiber stronger.
January 18th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Green burials brings to the world innovative idea, And I am sure that lot of people support this idea
January 19th, 2009 at 2:50 am
It's a very good idea, as it doesn't need to cut down trees for making the caskets anymore!
January 20th, 2009 at 8:59 am
A green burial is a great idea. I just don't get the obsession with people wanting fancy caskets when nobody is going to be looking at it once the person is buried. I have also heard of funeral homes that do not use caskets at all and just provide a tracking device as to the person's location.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:07 pm
CyberCelt, sorry about that. The list has been updated and I plan to keep it updated from now on.
PassionateGreen, lol, that would be a little creepy!