4 Perks of a Green Burial

Green burial, while seemingly a new concept is actually based on very old beliefs. For example, the early American Puritan settlers, strictly against any display that they deemed as too prideful or extravagant, instead preferred simple, natural burials.

Green burial (which is sometimes known as direct burial) is an interment in which the body is buried in a simple, easily biodegradable container, or, in some cases, the body is simply wrapped in a shroud and placed to rest in the earth with no other container.

1. In this funerary custom, there is no embalming due in large part to what some believe is the harmful effect of embalming fluids on the environment. Very often, there is no large, formal or expensive ceremony and typically no wake or visitation. Because of the lack of embalming and the desire to return the body directly to the earth, the remains are buried much sooner after death than they would be in a traditional ceremony.

2. A more traditional-style funeral can be a part of a green burial if such services are of importance to the family of the deceased or are known to be a desire the deceased had in life. Other times, a memorial service is held after the burial sometimes immediately or, other times, at a much later date. The way this is addressed depends on each situation and also allows many opportunities for a very special, personalized funeral service or tribute.

3. A direct burial will invariably cost much less than a traditional service. There are no fees for embalming, funeral home rental, costly transportation, expensive caskets or urns, and pricey cemetery property.

4. In a world culture that increasingly prizes environmentally sound choices, green burials take considerably less land space, don’t release any pollution into the air (as cremation is thought to do) and don’t release potentially harmful chemicals into the earth from embalming fluids or effluence from chemicals present in caskets, liners or other elements specific to a traditional burial. This is an excellent choice to honor the remains and the memory of one who was very environmentally aware.

Mourners accustomed to and comforted by the familiarity of a traditional funeral may find a green or direct burial to be discomforting or off-putting.

However, increasingly families are seeing green burial as an opportunity to more personally memorialize their loved one. Similarly, a green burial is a hopeful and thoughtful act—one in which the deceased is honored in such a way as to protect and preserve the earth for his or her survivors.

Given that the resurgence of direct burial is relatively new within the recent history of funerary practices, in making this decision, you should consider the reaction of friends and family members who may wish to grieve in the usual way. As we’ve pointed out, in many cases, the funeral is seen as being more for the living than the dead.

You may wonder where a green burial is held since most traditional cemeteries don’t support this option. For purposes of green burials, in many areas, special reserves are set aside. For example, at the Ramsey Creek Preserve, near Westminster, South Carolina in the United States, 32 acres have been set aside for green burials.