Traditional cremation is certainly on the rise in all parts of the United States and Canada, but it is not an environmentally friendly process and it is not considered a form of green burial. Traditional cremation creates fossil fuel emissions and the ashes itself can contain toxins. However, a new green method of cremation is growing in popularity, and there are certainly a number of creative, eco-friendly ways to preserve its “creams,” as they are called.
The process called alkaline hydrolysis – also known as water resomation, bio-cremation, and flameless cremation – uses heat, lye, and water to dissolve or break down a human body into liquid and remaining bones.
Dean Fisher, who heads UCLA’s body donation program, explains that this process works with a light carbon footprint “because it catalyzes hydrogen in water to attack chemical bonds between molecules in the body more quickly.” .
Alkaline hydrolysis is usually done in a large stainless steel cylinder, with the old one-person rescue vehicle equivalent to a coffee-colored liquid that can be safely dumped down a sewer. The remaining bone fragments are powdered and returned to the family, much like a traditional cremation.
Although costs vary, alkaline hydrolysis typically costs $ 150 to $ 500 more than traditional cremation. Otherwise, it is the light green choice. For example, the Sierra Club writes: “Lower temperatures help reduce carbon emissions; emissions from alkaline hydrolysis are only 10 to 15% of those from cremation. The table below compares carbon emissions from traditional cremation to those from alkaline hydrolysis.
Dr. Billy Campbell, steward of the Ramsey Creek Preserve, America’s first green cemetery, studied the resomation process and discovered that it occurs naturally when a body is buried in neutral or slightly alkaline soil. . He writes: “To a large extent, bodies are broken down by alkaline hydrolysis, accelerated by bacteria in the soil, and it is a very slow process.
At the start of 2018, twelve US states considered alkaline hydrolysis a legal form of bodily disposal: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon and Wyoming. Two Canadian provinces are also on board. If you prefer cremation to burial, consider choosing this gentler, more environmentally friendly process instead.
Graph The green burial guide
Creative Crémains
Like cremation, alkaline hydrolysis produces ashes that families must either dispose of or keep. As I mentioned earlier, if you want to spread the ashes of a loved one, always check the laws of the state where you want to spread the ashes. Laws vary and it will help you know that you are not breaking any rules.
Cremains can be buried in a backyard, in a traditional cemetery, or in special burial areas called EcoEternity Forests. These are cemeteries located in several states that have small locations for biodegradable urns. A family can rent a tree for their loved one and have a small plaque attached to it with an inscription for the remains buried.
If you’re going to save the ashes, here are some creative options to consider in addition to the traditional ceramic or metal urn.
Dryer Lint Urns
When my daughter was toddler, I noticed that all of our dryer lint was getting shiny and colorful. Her girlish clothes left something magical behind, and I knew I had to spread it out for birds to make nests or store it as a fire starter on camping trips. Or maybe I could give it to my funeral families to organically wrap portions of their loved one’s remains.
In 2010, as the 40th anniversary of Earth Day approached, I decided to see if I could make funeral urns from all the plush toys I had put aside. I soon realized that I could pull off the sticky bits of fiber and lint and create lasting art.
A local artist friend, Marliese Franklin, and I sautéed the fluff in water in a large pot, stirring well. Slowly adding more flour, we cooked my dryer dust lees over medium heat, constantly raising it until the mixture held together, forming peaks. We then poured it over several layers of newspaper to cool.
Dry lint urns have two obvious advantages: They are environmentally friendly, as you would expect from a biodegradable urn, and you can make them essentially for free. They are a natural demonstration of the cycle of life – we are born, we die, we replenish the Earth and the cycle begins again – as well as a great option for anyone on a budget.
I offered the urns I made for free to anyone in need who wanted one, and I encourage you to try making your own, using my simple recipe:
- 3 cups of dryer lint
- 2 cups of lukewarm water
- 1 cup of flour
When I ran out of my own soft toys, I called a local laundromat, which luckily donated twenty pounds for a good cause. For families stressed by personal loss and the high costs of an average funeral, every little savings can help.
Eternal reefs
How about spending eternity at the bottom of the ocean? In a way, it’s like a burial at sea, only with cremation ashes. Georgia-based company Eternal Reefs takes human ashes and mixes them with cement to create “reef balls.” Resembling large Whiffle balls, these molded structures are cast offshore and become artificial reefs for fish and other marine life. Although reef balls do not break down, they still support a sustainable ocean, and the location of each specific reef ball in the ocean can be pinpointed using GPS.
Bio urns
Several companies now offer what is called an organic urn, which is a biodegradable urn that contains the seed or sapling of a tree. Customers can usually choose the tree of their choice (ideally a tree that will thrive in their particular location), and once planted, your ashes or that of a loved one will always be marked, not by a gravestone, but by a tree.
Note that in these products, the roots of the trees do not grow directly in the dense cremains, which are generally lower in the basket.
Let your love grow
As I mentioned, undiluted creams are not healthy for plants, which is why the Let Your Love Grow company solved this problem by mixing human cremation ashes with a specially formulated organic blend so that the creams can be used as planting soil. This mixture contains a very low sodium and pH content, which allows the ash to release only the nutrients that will fertilize the plants.
Sustainable art: rest in pieces
Creations by artist Nadine Jarvis transformed cremation ashes into bird feeders, pencil boxes and other rebirth concepts. For one piece, Jarvis created a set of 240 human ash pencils, cleverly called the carbon copies, each with the person’s name and dates embossed. A special pencil box allows only one pencil to be removed from the box at a time, and a built-in pencil sharpener collects pencil shavings, which are actually carbon scraps from human remains. As the pencils are used, the box becomes an urn, containing the person’s remains. Of course, it’s not an actual product that you can buy, but it shows how a little creativity can lead to unique and “lasting” memories of those you love.
For example, I know a woman who after her fiftieth birthday had a midlife crisis. Instead of shaking and moaning, she decided to make art. She sent a note to all her family and friends: Anyone who had metal orthopedic parts and wanted cremation should leave those parts with her. It has become his way of celebrating both their life and life itself. Turns out her cousin had already swallowed a few small screws in high school as a challenge. They remained in her body when she died, and yes, she has now framed them. What a wonderful way to remember him! The woman also made wind chimes from titanium hip replacement parts, and she now keeps the memory of those friends alive through the songs of their “bones.”
I also read once that a grandson took the metal pieces from his grandfather’s cremated remains, polished them, put them on a plaque, and labeled it: Grandpa. What a beautiful conversation piece!
Also taken from the Green Burial Guidebook:
Funeral costs in the United States average over $ 10,000. And each year, conventional funerals bury millions of tons of wood, concrete and metals, as well as millions of gallons of carcinogenic embalming fluid. There is a better way, and Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately known as the “Green Reaper,” takes you step by step through her book,
The green burial guide. She provides comprehensive and compassionate advice, covering everything from eco-friendly burial planning and home funeral basics to legal guidelines and original options, such as burials in your own backyard. Fournier leads the way in ecological funeral practices that take into account both the environmental well-being of the planet and the economic well-being of loved ones. In the excerpt from the book above, Elizabeth shares some of the many green options we have for wrapping the body of a loved one, before the funeral.
Book’s extract The guide to green burial: everything you need to plan an affordable and eco-friendly burial. Copyright © 2018 by Élisabeth Fournier. Printed with permission from the New World Library.
Originally published: August 2019
