Dying sustainably
Humans kill the planet, even after they die. But one company in Florida is turning to green burials.
By Alex Figares
Spread across nearly 600 acres of preserved land, just next to Payne’s Prairie in Gainesville, Florida, is Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery, a non-profit organization specializing in green burial options.
The non-profit owners say they pride themselves on being one of few green burial cemeteries in the United States, according to the National Funeral Director Association, abiding by strict laws that focus on reducing carbon emissions and land restoration.
Prairie Creek employees do everything by hand, including digging the grave and preparing the body in a shroud. The body is then placed in the grave and buried.
Unlike traditional burials, Prairie Creek’s methods do not allow embalming and do not introduce foreign material into the ground. If caskets are used, they must be made of biodegradable material like bamboo or cardboard.
“We offer a choice that conserves land and reunites people with earth,” Prairie Creek employee Chris Roder said.
In 2017, nearly 53 percent of Americans said they were interested in a green burial, according to the NFDA.
“When you consider all of the burials, embalming involves many gallons of various chemicals into the environment,” Roder said.
Embalming is a typical practice done to preserve a body when there will be a viewing, said funeral director Kim Borselli from Fuller Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Naples, Florida.
“If nobody is going to see them, there’s no reason to put the body through that process and go through the expense of embalming them,” he said.
Embalming fluid contains formaldehyde and methane, which are injected into a corpse’s veins to denaturize the body’s proteins, Borselli said.
The chemicals delay the deterioration process and eliminate bacteria, keeping the body clean and presentable.
All bodies – embalmed or not – go through the same burial procedure, which can cost between $4,000 to $10,000. That doesn’t include services like flowers, limousines and cemetery costs.
At the cemetery, a cement liner is placed in the ground, the casket is lowered, and the space is closed with 4 to 6 feet of dirt.
Once the body is in the ground, it attracts bacteria, insects and fauna. The body can take several weeks to months to decompose, said Heather Walsh-Haney, associate professor and chair of the Justice Studies department at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Decomposition begins with body cooling, blood pooling, muscle stiffening and then cellular death, she said.
This process allows the naturally occurring bacteria in the body to multiply, which creates methane gas. This, in turn, creates fissures in the skin and decomposition fluids leave the body, which attracts insects.
So, is letting a body decompose naturally a health hazard?
“Most human illnesses cannot survive after cellular death,” Walsh-Haney said. “In general, natural decomposing bodies in soil do not pose a health hazard.”
But the methane gas contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, so now, more Americans are turning to cremation.
Put off by the potential environmental impacts of traditional burials, nearly half of Americans chose cremation in 2017, according to the NFDA.
Cremation can cost anywhere between $2,000 to $8,000 if church services and rented caskets are included.
Before a body is cremated, it is loaded into a rigid combustible container, which is usually cardboard as regulated by Florida law.
The container is loaded into a 1,600-degree crematory, where the heat removes water from the body, leaving behind hard tissues and bones.
Carbon monoxide and mercury is also left behind and spreads through the air.
To curb environmental impacts, cremation is controlled by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The FDEP enforces pollution control devices and prohibits carbon monoxide emissions exceeding 100 parts per million. Visible smoke is also prohibited.
After cremation, the remains are collected and moved to a processor, which reduces the bones to smaller pieces and are then placed in an urn of a loved one’s choosing – which includes green options.
“There are urns made of salt and compressed sand,” Borselli said. “So, this way it’s 100 percent biodegradable. There are urns that will grow a tree, there are urns in a bamboo container and there are urns, depending on what part of the country you’re in, where you can choose what kind of tree you want to be.”
So, if natural burial produces greenhouse gases, traditional burials can include chemicals and cremation produces mercury, what’s the greenest way to go?
The answer may not be clear, but the Green Burial Council offers environmental certificates to funeral homes and cemeteries to encourage green practices, and also offers resources like how to plan a green burial.
And while there are many ways to be buried, Borselli said traditional burials are just a way to keep things in order.
“If they let that job (burials) up to people, would they do it? Where are you going to find the acreage to do it?”
Walsh-Haney said we need to ensure both the living and the dead are treated with respect, and that local customs and environmental needs need to be acknowledged.
“In the U.S. we have a system that contains numerous stakeholders—funeral directors, medical examiners, hospice, law enforcement, clergy and cemetery owners,” said. “Consequently, a change in the current structure needs to be evaluated by all stake holders, which takes time.”
Back in Gainesville, Roder said that natural is the way to go.
“It’s a very fulfilling way to help a fellow human being,” Roder said. “I see it as a way to help humanity. When we’re done digging a grave, there’s a feeling of having helped someone with a final favor.”
