I’ve seen several stories lately about the growing popularity of natural burial. Sure sounds good to me! My idea of the best way to go is just to be slipped into the garden and start to give back to Mother Nature. And it’s beginning to be possible!
Now there are biodegradable coffins made of recycled newspapers (called the Ecopod), natural fiber shrouds, fair-trade bamboo caskets lined with unbleached organic cotton. We no longer need formaldehyde embalming (turns us into poison!), chemical lawn treatments or laminated caskets, all of which damage the earth and are not sustainable. And those old ways are also more expensive. Cremation, the best choice up until now leaves a big CO2 footprint.
Today, we can choose ‘green’ cemeteries hosting natural, environmentally friendly burials, popular in Britain and now growing here. As often turns out to be the case, going green with death just means going back to the way we used to bury people – with love, honor and simplicity.