A Green Burial is still behind cremation, however it is a truly growing occurrence. Dry ice or being refrigerated is the deal, these are replacing formaldehyde. Wooden caskets are being used over concrete vaults.
Even at times shrouds are the method to encase a body for burial.
AARP did a study where it was expressed that 1/3 of those surveyed chose Green Burial as the preferred method.
The Green Burial Council of Santa Fe was formed in response to numerous cemetery management and funeral directors inquiries. They needed options.
Thus far fewer than 20 cemeteries that offers space for Green Burials. It is predicted for that number to increase to 20 within 5 years or so. With space at many cemeteries at a premium that is a curious estimation.
These Green Burial spaces are kept separate from the main burial plots. No mechanical machines dig the grave, they are only hand dug. Normally also placed amid trees and simple stones mark each resting place.
Sounds like a return to the older ways from whence we came. In actuality embalming is not mandated by law. Funeral directors have demanded it for when they have viewings for the bodies. The boys who died in the Civil War needed to be transported home and thus embalming helped the body last until loved ones could tend to them. Since at that time funerals were a family thing and held in the homes.
At some point funeral homes took over the home viewings. The funeral homes catered to the one left behind with the satin lined caskets and grand stone monuments.
Environmentalists are concerned about formaldehyde is a potential pollutant to soil and water. It is not sure how much escapes from the coffin to the surrounding soil.
The jury is still out on where you end up and how. A simple cardboard box is my preference, a viewing is not necessary and a party to celebrate my life is what I have expressed as my choice.
Good luck while dealing with this personal decision if you choose to make it.
