#alternative disposition

[katsylver-deathcare]

Steelmantown Cemetery, New Jersey

We can help save the planet from beyond the grave.

[katsylver-deathcare]

Death Goes Green

The Eco-friendly Funerals of the Future

We’ve made innovations in how we live, but what about how we’re laid to rest? With the ever increasing environmental toll caused by traditional funerals, the growing modern burial movement seeks to find simpler, more graceful ways of returning to the earth; burying unembalmed bodies in biodegradable coffins or shrouds, putting QR codes on headstones, creating facilities for human composting in city centers. 

(Video of Eloise Woods Natural Burial Park in Cedar Creek, Texas)

[katsylver-deathcare]

"Many elderly couples say they want to buy their own lots ahead of time ‘because my kids will want someplace to come to remember me.’ But the truth is, many of them won't, and that doesn’t mean they don’t love their parents. It means people are finding different ways to remember the dead that aren’t bound to where their remains are buried. Perhaps your letters, recipes, or photographs mean more to them than the location of your coffin." - Final Rights : Reclaiming the American Way of Death, Joshua Slocum & Lisa Carlson

[katsylver-deathcare]

I just finished reading Caitlin Doughty's book "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons From the Crematory." I've never really thought that much about what I wanted done with my body postmortem. My previous plan was to die with no real pomp and circumstance in my wake. I do not wish my body to be shot up with chemicals that can harm anything that plans to eat my corpse. and buried. I wanted cremation, but now I know of the environmental impact. I would still like to be scattered. Your advice?

Thank you for asking!

There are a number of alternative methods of disposition to choose from & changing deathcare technologies are adding new methods all the time.

An organization called Crestone End-of-Life Project is home to the only open-air cremation pyre in the United States. You must be a resident of Crestone, CO for at least three months in order to be eligible for this service. I am tremendously inspired by the work this group has done & plan on looking into incorporating an open-air pyre in my future natural burial grounds.

Another option that has started making a name for itself is Alkaline Hydrolysis. This is a process that uses water & lye to reduce a human corpse to a sort of composite liquid & the more familiar ash of the bone remains. Your ashes can be scattered and the liquid can be disposed of. Alkaline Hydrolysis is getting praise for using less resources & producing fewer pollutants than traditional cremation. 

There are also options that may even things out, environmentally(if that’s something you’d consider plausible). You can have your ashes incorporated in a reef ball which is placed in a memorial reef which allows for the ecological growth of reefs in that area. One might argue that whatever resources or pollution are produced by your cremation process are cancelled out by the ongoing environmental benefits provided by your reef ball.

Of course, there is always green or natural burial. By allowing your corpse to decompose naturally, you are providing a return to the earth as your final act on it.

Please let me know if you have any other questions!