There are many different options for funerals, and people often have strong feelings about what is the “right” way to say goodbye to a loved one. If you’re interested in exploring the option of natural burial, it’s essential to understand what that means.
Natural burial is the simple process of burying a body in the ground without embalming fluid, metal caskets, or concrete vaults. Instead, the body is placed in a biodegradable coffin or wrapped in a shroud and buried in soil that will allow for natural decomposition.
If you’ve ever been curious about what “natural burial” means, you’re in luck! We’ll explain everything you need to know about this growing trend in the funeral industry. So keep reading to learn more.
What Happens to the Body During a Natural Burial?
Natural burials seek to return the body to the earth as naturally as possible. Green burial is an environmentally friendly burial that involves rejecting embalming methods, cremation, and caskets or coffins. These elements don’t biodegrade over time, frequently taking place in protected woodlands, wildflower meadows, and parkland.
In natural burials, the body is wrapped in a shroud of natural fabric and placed directly into the ground without a casket. The body decomposes over time, and the natural erosion process returns the body to the earth.
One of the benefits of natural burial is that it helps reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Cremation, for example, burns natural gas and releases pollutants into the air. In contrast, natural burial helps to reduce carbon emissions and leaves a smaller ecological footprint. These are just some of the many reasons natural burial is becoming an increasingly popular choice. It’s a more environmentally friendly way to say goodbye to our loved ones. It helps preserve our natural resources for future generations. For these reasons, natural burial should be considered an important part of green living.
What are Natural Burial Grounds?
Natural burial grounds are open spaces that use natural materials to bury the deceased. These materials include wood, leaves, and stone. Using natural materials allows the natural environment can recycle the nutrients back into the ground.
There are many reasons why natural burial is important. One of the main reasons is that it’s good for the environment. When the burial of a person occurs in traditional cemeteries, all of the embalming fluid and other chemicals used to preserve the body end up seeping into the ground. That can contaminate water supplies and harm wildlife.
There is no embalming fluid or other harmful chemicals involved with natural burial. The body decomposes naturally, which helps to improve the quality of the soil. In addition, natural burial grounds are often much more beautiful than traditional cemeteries, and they provide a space for nature to thrive. Some people choose natural burial because they want their bodies to return to the earth naturally. When you’re buried in a traditional cemetery, your body is sealed in a casket, and it never decomposes. That means that your remains will be buried underground for centuries. Your body decomposes naturally and becomes part of the earth again with natural burial.
If you’re interested in natural burial, many options are available to you. There are now natural burial grounds worldwide, and many traditional cemeteries are starting to offer natural burial as an option. You can also choose to have a green funeral, which involves using natural materials to decorate the coffin and celebrate the deceased’s life.
Can You Have a Natural Burial in the US?
The answer to that is an absolute yes. There are currently around 166 natural burial grounds in the United States. The majority of the burial sites are designated as Conservation Ground burial sites, which were developed to assist and restore natural areas. The natural burial movement is growing. Many people find it a more fitting and ecological way to say goodbye to a loved one.
How to Do a Green Burial?
It’s time to choose a green burial cemetery and get started. You usually have two choices. First, a funeral director may assist you with a green burial service package. That is the preparation of the deceased without using chemicals, a biodegradable coffin, and the transportation of the corpse to your preferred cemetery for a basic burial.
Alternative burial options include creating a green burial cemetery that allows the burial of the dead. Alternatively, several green burial cemeteries make it easy to inter the deceased, as it is a natural and easy process. In addition, that may help the family to have a more active role in the funeral process, which we refer to as a “family-directed funeral” or “do it yourself funeral.” Finally, a biodegradable coffin and a simple graveside burial can all be used to transport the deceased to the green burial area.
How Much Does a Green Burial Cost?
The costs of a natural burial can range from $1,000 to $4,000 or more. Burial is a complex process that typically takes place in the form of an open-air grave with associated fees to bury one’s deceased. The costs can include not just a burial plot but also markers and endowments for perpetual care funds – all this while considering what you want your final resting place to look like. The fee does not include the cost of a funeral or memorial service or anybody processing or transporting.
The cost of a gravesite and burial for cremated remains typically ranges from $200 to $1,000. These prices do not include the cost of the cremation procedure, which may range from $1,000 to $2,500 and is performed by a funeral home, mortuary, or crematory. Make careful comparisons to discover a reasonable price. Funeral providers are not allowed to charge an additional fee for burial containers acceptable under the law. So-called “earth-friendly caskets” might be wasteful and add thousands of dollars to the overall cost.
What to Expect at a Natural Burial?
When you attend a natural burial, you can expect to see simple wooden caskets or shrouds made of natural materials such as cotton, wool, or silk. The remains will not be embalmed, and they will be interred in an unmonumented grave. The site might have natural features such as trees, wildflowers, and rolling hills. You may be able to attend the burial and perhaps take part in the ceremony.
Cemeteries that offer natural burials are often called “eco-cemeteries” or “green cemeteries.” That is because they comply with environmental regulations and typically use natural landscaping and sustainable practices, such as using rainwater for irrigation.
How Long Does it Take for a Body to Decompose in a Natural Burial?
Consider this another viewpoint: A body will degrade over four to six weeks, releasing about 12 gallons of moisture. After researching the aquifer and established water sources, careful planning of the cemetery site is advised.
Decomposition is accelerated or retarded depending on various circumstances, such as the general condition of the body, body size, disease processes, drug therapies, analgesic usage, storage procedures, and other external factors. Depending on whether the body is placed in a coffin, if there is water available, and how much, as well as the sort of soil and how it was handled at a burial, decomposition time after interment varies.
Benefits of Natural Burial
- One of the benefits of natural burial is that it helps preserve natural areas. When a body is buried in an artificial casket, it can take up to 500 years for that casket to degrade. By contrast, a biodegradable casket will break down within six months.
- Preservation of land (no embalming chemicals or concrete vaults)
- Reduction of greenhouse gases from conventional burials
- Return of natural nutrients to the earth
- A sense of tranquility and connection to nature
- Cutting costs of a funeral. Burying a loved one naturally is often much less expensive than traditional. There are no embalming chemicals, concrete vaults, or fancy headstones needed. The body can simply be buried in a shroud or natural fiber coffin. That also means that there is no need for a funeral home so that the funeral can take place at the gravesite.
- A society with a safer environment. The transportation of steel and concrete, their use in burial vaults and caskets, embalming fluid production, and cremation all produce noxious gases and carbon dioxide that are harmful to the environment and detrimental to persons living near manufacturing sites.
- You’ll have a greater feeling of control over your own body. The natural burial movement is frequently seen as a further development of the natural birth movement. Both may be regarded as methods of enhancing one’s body control during a natural phase of life. Some people feel that embalming is disrespectful to the body and prefer a natural burial, which they consider more in keeping with their beliefs.
- The reduction of carbon footprint is important. Cremation is another option that uses fewer resources than conventional burial. Still, it may also be harmful to the environment. The problem is that it consumes a lot of energy, and the process produces a lot of carbon dioxide.
Choosing a natural burial is a way for people to connect with the natural world more intimately. It allows the body to decompose naturally without using harmful chemicals. That is better for the environment. It reduces greenhouse gases and enables natural nutrients to return to the earth. In addition, people who choose natural burial often find a sense of tranquility in knowing their loved one is at peace and in harmony with nature.