You drive an electric vehicle . You recycle . You’re a vegetarian . Do yourfinal wishesreflect your eco - friendly lifestyle ? Though it ’s not likely to be discuss at a funeral , the popular methods of eubstance disposal — traditional entombment or cremation — bothpose major environmental chance .
In recent yr , natural interment has made a comeback , with promises to protect the planet . Here are eight eco - friendly ways to make your last human action on Earth a genial one .
1. Be buried in a mushroom coffin.
Mushrooms are masters ofmyco - remedy — a process in whichfungibreak down toxic compound in the environment . Loop , a Dutch troupe , is go for this idea to human burying with itsLiving Cocoon , a person - sized boxwood made entirely of sturdy fungal fiber call mycelium . While the box is above ground and empty , the mycelium dry out and becomes solid ; but when it ’s inter with a permanent occupant , the wet in the territory reactivate the fiber and the fungi begin to get . Eventually , the body will be down , and the palisade grease will be enriched . It ’s an appealing thought for the green at heart , even though “ eaten by mushroom ” may not be exactly how they pictured break out .
2. Dissolve in a warm bath.
With aquamation — also known as H2O cremation or alkaline hydrolysis — the body is placed in a stainless sword vesselfilledwith a result of 95 per centum weewee and 5 percent K hydroxide or Na hydroxide . A combination of belt along alkaline waters and temperatures around 350 ° F make the body to melt in fundamentally the same process that happens to a torso left outdoors or in a flow — but what would take month in nature takes about 20 hours in an aquamation seedpod . By the end , all that ’s left is the skeleton , or part thereof , which is grate up into a white gunpowder with a pearly sheen . The corpse are given to the loved ones , who may prefer to scatter them like ashes or localise them in a biodegradable urn . Advocates say the process give off about a fifth of the carbon dioxide of traditional cremation . Aquamation islegalin 25 states as of January 2023 .
3. Plant yourself at a body farm.
In the early 1970s , anthropologistWilliam Basswanted to study how bodies moulder course . Using donate cadavers , he create a “ farm ” for forensic anthropologist to study a blanket regalia of organic structure chemical decomposition reaction scenarios . What does it await like if a organic structure rots in a swamp ? If it ’s eaten by maggots ? Crows ? Welcome to the body farm , where disturbing dream add up truthful .
Texas lays claim to thelargest organic structure farmin the U.S. , situate on Freeman Ranch at Texas State University . The body farm is responsible for massive developments in criminal science and thanatology ( the work of dying ) ; it ’s aid in critical discovery including the “ microbial clock”—a summons by which time of decease can be identified by canvas the posthumous microbiome .
People can donate their torso to a local body farm to further research ( and save a full lump of change on inhumation ) . There aresevencurrently operating in the United States , with more in other countries .
4. Let vultures consume your remains.
In Tibet , Buddhists use “ sky entombment ” entail to encourage dear karma . They take bodies of their loved ones to high - elevation charnel ground wherevulturescome to eat the frame , offering back to the world what was taken in sprightliness : meat . It ’s believed that the exercise encourages the dead to move along to the next life sentence without being held back by one ’s greatest attachment — their forcible trunk . Ritual by , these sky burials are apractical solutionin a region miss in wood and usableburialgrounds ( the rocky earth makes it surd to dig ) .
5. Decompose naturally.
Green burials look passably much like normal burials , except for a few important differences . No embalm fluid or toxic chemicals of any sort are used . The grave accent is often dig by hand ( either by the green burial ground stave or , if they choose , the fuck I themselves ) . There is no cement plot . Only biodegradable caskets , such as those made of wicker , can be used ; sometimes the body is simply placed in an unbleached cloth shroud . This allows the corpse to molder naturally , come back its nutrients to the earth . Many light-green entombment grounds also attend as wildlife refuges , creating space foranimalsand aboriginal flora life — families can choose from a motley of live , wild sess and flowers to adorn the grave .
Aside from being environmentally well-disposed , this is a sleazy choice than traditional entombment consider the cost tag on casket and funerary service . The average cost of a viewing , embalming , and interment wasalmost $ 8000 in 2021 , while a green burying could cost half that amount or even less .
6. Commit your body to the deep.
7. Compost yourself.
As of December 31 , 2022,six U.S. stateshave legitimatize human composting — Washingtonwas the first , followed by Colorado , Oregon , Vermont , California , and New York . In this process , a body is placed in a reusable storage tank and cover with organic materials like straw or wood chips . Microbes get to employment breaking down the cadaver . About a month after , the at peace ’s loved ones can collect the contents , now transmute into ( roughly ) a three-dimensional yard of environmentally - well-disposed compost that can be added to gardens or flower bed .
8. Accidentally fall into a peat bog.
Peat marshes ( orbogs ) are highly acidic environments that save human body andother materialsplaced in them . Hikers in Ireland and Scandinavia have stumble upon mummified , teatime - coloredbog bodiesdating back one C or yard of age . So , while the alkaline water of aquamation will dissolve a body stake - haste , the acids in the bogs give a pH akin to that of vinegar . This act like a pickling agent , freeze the body in time , and the tannins in the peat dye the bodies a leathery Brown University . Accidentally fall into a peat bog believably is n’t the next big course in green burial , but itisa elbow room to preserve human remains without harm the surroundings .
A version of this story ran in 2018 ; it has been update for 2023 .
