Funeral Homes: A End and a Beginning

Options For Environmentally Friendly Cremation

When it comes to making burial and cremation decisions, many people look for solutions that not only align with their beliefs but are good for the environment, too. If you've been trying to decide about cremation or burial and the environmental impact of your final resting place matters to you, there are some things that you should consider. Here are some of the things that you should know about environmentally responsible solutions and cremation.

Cremation minimizes direct contaminants

One of the things that you should understand about cremation is that it is fundamentally better for the environment in a few different ways. First, the cremation process produces a fraction of the carbon dioxide of traditional decomposition. That means you'll be reducing overall emissions if you choose cremation. Not only that, but cremation also eliminates the risk of embalming chemicals contaminating the soil because there's no need for embalming with the cremation process. This protects the environment from additional contaminants.

Cremation does not have to mean incineration

Although the traditional cremation process involves burning remains, there are new methods that are actually better for the environment because they eliminate a large percentage of emissions. Alkaline hydrolysis is a version of cremation that uses water to break down remains. At the end of the process, the cremains that are left can even be used for fertilizer if you want to make use of them instead of storing them. You won't have to worry about the emissions from the crematorium because alkaline hydrolysis doesn't require incineration.

Cremation offers a variety of environmentally friendly solutions

Once you have the cremains, there are many ways to use those cremains to benefit the environment. Memorial tree urns actually use cremains as nutrients to plant and grow a tree. If you want something that will last for generations to come, you can consider incorporating your loved one's cremains into a tree that you plant on your property or in their favorite place.

Coral reef internment is another option. In an attempt to restore coral reefs, some companies are creating artificial reefs and using them as a means for burying cremains. The cremains are incorporated into the reef structure before it is placed in the ocean.

No matter what your goal is, there are cremation solutions that might fit your needs. Talk with a funeral director today to see if one of these solutions might be a good solution in your situation.  


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