I just had to share this with you. A TV celebrity chef in Britain, Keith Floyd, died recently and he was buried in an eco-friendly casket made of banana leaves. I am fascinated because even though I pronounce "earth to earth, ashes to ashes and dust to dust" at the graveside, our mortal remains just aren't that compostable, shall we say. We have developed practices that keep us from becoming earth and ashes and dust once again. Our dead bodies are filled with potent chemicals and put in expensive and durable caskets. We even install concrete vaults in the ground to keep our graves from collapsing. Cremation has become a popular alternative in our society, but it takes a lot of energy to reduce our water-based bodies to ashes. Floyd's body and casket were cremated, but it wouldn't have required the same number of BTU's.
I have actually attended a workshop on environmentally sustainable burials and discovered that governments don't really like the idea. They are worried about contamination so there are lots of rules about burial that make it difficult to establish cemeteries that might eventually become forests or don't require manicuring like golf courses. So cremation tends to be the alternative and families scatter the ashes here and there, without much thought about future generations and how they will honour the departed.
People like to say to me "just bury me in a pine box!" or a cardboard crate or something along these lines. It just isn't that easy, but maybe it should be. Any thoughts?
I am in the U.K. right now, touring a lot of graveyards, old churches etc. A number of grave yards here have a field beside them for "green" burials. No boxes in the ground, people are buried in shrouds. A big rock or tree/bush marks the place. They are actually very peaceful places and work quite well with the old graveyards. Some of the places have a memorial wall with people's names, dates, who are buried in the "green" places.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason my name has changed in the U.K google account. In Canada I am Laurie.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this perspective Laurie, aka Irene (how does that work?)
ReplyDeleteAt the seminar I attended it was pointed out that eco-friendly burials are common practice in Britain, even though it is crowded compared to Canada and the U.S.
It's good to hear from someone who has actually seen it.
Hooray! It's good to hear that there are some good thoughts around eco-friendly burial. I avoid chemicals in every way in my everyday life. I hate the thought of being filled with them when I die; that is why I have opted for cremation. Great ideas from Britain.
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