6 Practical Tips when having a Green Funeral Service

Since the trend for Green Funerals is beginning to rise and is expected to more with each passing year, it is wise to know what you can do to have the best Green Funeral possible. It does not matter if it is a pre planned funeral for you or you are carrying out someone else’s wishes.

 

1. Make sure you know the laws in your area, especially, if you are planning on holding a funeral at home.

 

 

 

2. Should the burial or cremation happen immediately, an online memorial is an excellent way to honor the deceased. This form of memorial is becoming increasingly popular. For more information visit

www.CemeterySpot.com or www.CemeterySpot.org.

 

 

 

3. Instead of flowers, give sympathy gifts. Floral arrangements don’t last very long and the farming of flowers is taxing to the environment. Donations to charities, living plants or trees, old family photo, digital files or albums or home movies, or practical items which will give comfort or ease to the bereaved are far more fitting ways of showing sympathy than cut flowers.

 

 

 

4. Plant something. Your loved one cared about the environment. Go outside and plant something in the garden in his or her honor.

 

 

 

5. Speak from the heart. Once all of the decisions have been made and the plans have been followed to the letter of the law, you have the opportunity to let your emotions flow. Take the time to put into words what you’re feeling—even if you don’t necessarily say them out loud.

 

 

 

6. Have an eco-friendly funeral service. You’ve gone this far to protect the environment, don’t forget about the details.

 

 

 

• Programs:

Use recycled paper for programs or hymn sheets.

 

• Flowers:

Try to stay away from cut flowers.

 

• Transportation:

There’s no reason you can’t carpool.

 

• Refreshments:

Why not enjoy some organic, naturally grown food?

 

• Leave a Living Marker:

There’s no denying that we all want to leave a lasting mark behind, and it’s certainly of the utmost importance that mourners have a place to go to “visit” their loved one who has passed away. Instead of quarried headstones or marble mausoleums, consider planting a tree or a bush that will thrive in honor of the deceased.

 

 

 

Your state, region or country may have specific laws and guidelines in place that govern how human remains must be handled or transported. Check with a local funeral director, health agency or even do Internet searches to make sure you fully understand the laws in your area.

 

 

 

In a green burial, if a casket is used at all, that casket is required to be of a biodegradable material. Many casket manufacturers produce special biodegradable caskets ranging from easily biodegradable wood or particle board to paper products such as cardboard. If you are pre-planning, you also have the option of making and decorating your own casket or container.

 

 

Before funeral homes and funeral directors centralized our attitudes toward funerals and burials into a convenient one-stop facility, when a person passed away, he or she was naturally prepared and displayed in the home before being taken to a sanctioned burial place. The “at home” funeral is coming back as part of the green funeral.