More and more people are beginning to understand just how much their chosen lifestyle will impact the wider environment. Nowadays, you can book anything from eco-friendly holidays to green grocery deliveries. Yep, living organically has never been easier.
But did you know that you can also arrange for an eco-friendly funeral if you want one? Many people are worried about the impact that their funeral might have on the environment so they put plans in place – in advance of their passing – to specify exactly what sort of ecologically conscious funeral service they would like.
Some also opt to take out final expense insurance (also known as burial or funeral insurance) to cover such funeral plans, and as life insurance expert Kim Wilhelm explained, you can choose to use the proceeds from your burial insurance policy to have a green funeral.
Equally, people who are planning the funeral of a recently departed loved one now have the option of choosing something that is environmentally friendly. If the person whose life is being remembered was an environmentalist, then choosing an eco-friendly service certainly makes sense. That said, eco-friendly funerals remain only a small – though growing – part of the funeral industry today. Read on to find out more about what’s involved in an eco-friendly burial or cremation.
ECO-FRIENDLY FUNERAL SERVICES
The most common way that people make funeral services more eco-friendly is by cutting down on the travel involved. This often means holding them locally, with fewer mourners. You can find many funeral venues which will offer live streaming, too, something that means people can virtually attend without the need to board an aeroplane or travel for hours by car to be there in person.
Since we are living in a digital age, and to help those not making the long trip due to environmental reasons, you can also set up a tribute website to honour the departed, perhaps with suggested donations to your loved one’s favourite charity online, rather than collecting donations at the time of the event.
ECO-FRIENDLY BURIALS
Typically, eco-friendly burials occur in one of two ways. You can have the body buried in a memorial ground or cemetery with its own woodland or, alternatively, opt for a natural burial on private land.
The basic idea is to inter the body with as little impact on the environment as possible. This will usually mean using a biodegradable material for the coffin. Indeed, a simple shroud may be preferred so that there is even less to decay. Burial plots are as small as possible and it is common for no marker or gravestone to be allowed. This means there is as little change to the natural environment as possible. For the same reason, the use of embalming fluids is not permitted for an eco-burial.
ECO-FRIENDLY CREMATIONS
Eco-cremations will use as little energy as possible to dispose of the body of the deceased. Only certain crematoria have the facilities needed for a truly low carbon footprint and still meet the legal requirements.
More often than not, the ashes will be given to mourners without an elaborate casket and they might even be dispersed in full immediately after the service if there is a suitable location. Nowadays, so-called bio-cremations are on offer which use water, heat, pressure and lye to break the body down in a specially designed chamber. This process uses much, much less energy than conventional cremations but it isn’t yet widely available throughout all of the UK. Nevertheless, it is something worth exploring if you want a truly ecologically sound funeral.