Natural Burial

[LukenDC]

I recently read an article about natural burial and the concept has me intrigued. For those of you who are not familiar with natural burial, it involves placing the body in a shroud or bio-degradable casket and burying it in a natural setting that has been set aside for that purpose. There is no embalming or tombstone, although the exact location of each gravesite is plotted via GPS. Natural burial is environmentally friendly and usually less expensive than a traditional casket burial. The body decomposes much more quickly than a body in a casket and becomes fertilizer for the plant life around the grave.

I am interested in reading any accounts from DISers who selected natural burial for themselves or a loved one. Was it easy to make plans? Expensive? One downside is that there are few cemeteries at this time that permit natural burial. How did you select a cemetery?

 

[golfgal]

Around here that would not be legal. Any body not buried within 24 hours has to be embalmed.

 

[LukenDC]

Around here that would not be legal. Any body not buried within 24 hours has to be embalmed.

Most states do not have cemeteries that permit natural burial. There are perhaps a dozen cemeteries in the US that permit this type of burial.

 

[7165red]

I have heard of it but I don't have any detailed info for you.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Hmmm...Jews have been doing this for centuries. When a Jewish person dies, the burial is usually within 24 hours (always with the orthodox), they are in a shroud (traditionally), and in a simple pine box, also they are NEVER embalmed. The reasons for this is for them to decompose as quickly as possible.

There are headstones though.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I think it's a great idea. We are starting to run out of land for burials, embalming fluids are toxic and can leak into the ground and water. We have to look into alternatives like this. Personally, my plans are for cremation, but I suppose this can cause some sort of air pollution (not sure how a crematorium works).

 

[minkydog]

I told DH I could save a bundle doing it the "natural" way. I'm just gonna fire up the BBQ and have at it

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I told DH I could save a bundle doing it the "natural" way. I'm just gonna fire up the BBQ and have at it

I don't know if you have ever heard Willie P Richardson, but he is this older man who calls places of business and kind of pranks them(he has cds). He called the local community center to reserve the big bbq cooker and pit. He gets that done, but he keeps them on the phone and mentions they are going to cremate his uncle and thats why they need the cooker. It was hilarious. The guy on the other end flipped out and threatened to call the police and then Willie hung up on him.

 

[minkydog]

I don't know if you have ever heard Willie P Richardson, but he is this older man who calls places of business and kind of pranks them(he has cds). He called the local community center to reserve the big bbq cooker and pit. He gets that done, but he keeps them on the phone and mentions they are going to cremate his uncle and thats why they need the cooker. It was hilarious. The guy on the other end flipped out and threatened to call the police and then Willie hung up on him.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I saw a documentary on this, I think Oregon allows it.

 

[beaucoup]

So after the body decomposes, is the land used again for another burial like maybe in 50 years or so? Otherwise, its not really going to help with running out of space.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

So after the body decomposes, is the land used again for another burial like maybe in 50 years or so? Otherwise, its not really going to help with running out of space.

I suppose if the body ends up as fertilizer like in the OP, then there would be no reason to not bury another body. It may not even take 50 years. I have no clue how long it takes a human body to break down completely. And there would still be bones....hmmm. I don't know. But we do need something similar to this. I did a little bit of reading after the OP posted the question and the article mentions that natural decomposition can also release toxins. Putrification can also pollute soil and ground. No way around that I guess, but at least it's the way Mother Nature intended it.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Just glancing at Wikipedia, seems like there are already a number of states that have "natural" cemetaries. NY, OH, WI, SC, ME etc (Oops, sorry to LukenDC who already posted that about a dozen states allow this. That's what I get for skimming!)
Also, here is a mention about embalming....consider the source, so it could be wrong.

"No state or province in North America requires routine embalming of bodies. When specified by state ordinance (usually within 24 hours of death), refrigeration, chilling or dry ice can often be substituted for embalming. Special circumstances such as an extended time between death and burial and transportation of remains on commercial flights that do not currently permit unembalmed bodies to travel may necessitate embalming."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_burial

 

[SandrA9810]

I heard about it on 20/20 or some night time news show. I think it should be the next normal thing to do, same with cremation.

What exactly is the point of having a body in a huge ornate casket that costs thousands, inside a vault of some sort that will never decompose?? Only to spend thousands on the whole thing??

And there's still ways to preserve without embalming. I mean look at some of the remains scientist find that are hundreds of years old. They knew something back then.

 

[zachnsamsmommy]

The idea is intriguing to me...but I don't think it is allowed in TN. I have already asked to be cremated b/c it is a shame to take up space once I am gone IMO. DH laughed and said "cheaper as well". We both have a morbid sense of humor...

 

[Polyluvr]

I don't know but to me that just seems gross~ I don't want to be buried in the yard like a cat, bird or dog. Yuck!!!

 

[LukenDC]

The link below will take you to a map showing the locations of natual burial cemeteries in the USA.

http://naturalburial.coop/USA/

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I heard about it on 20/20 or some night time news show. I think it should be the next normal thing to do, same with cremation.

What exactly is the point of having a body in a huge ornate casket that costs thousands, inside a vault of some sort that will never decompose?? Only to spend thousands on the whole thing??

And there's still ways to preserve without embalming. I mean look at some of the remains scientist find that are hundreds of years old. They knew something back then.

My FIL spent over 8k on my MILs funeral this summer. It depleted the savings they had. Now he is worried sick about his own funeral. I've always heard that any funeral director will tell you that the less fortunate will spend way more on a funeral than a well off family. They talked him into getting a vault, which I really didn't think he should have, but it wasn't my place. And I didn't want to take a chance on saying anything at all that would upset him. I love him so much and it was a rough time.
While we were at the funeral home and he was picking out the casket, they had some lovely cremains boxes and containers. One was wooden and it had a beautiful picture of a tree carved in it. I think it was $300.

 

[MrsPete]

Around here that would not be legal. Any body not buried within 24 hours has to be embalmed.

I think the 24-hour law is in place everywhere; however, I know that at least one small religious group near us does bury in this manner. If a person dies at noon, they call up everyone and have a funeral before noon the next day. If someone can't make it, well, that's just the way it is.

Incidentally, do y'all know how the process of embalming bodies started? I mean here in the US -- not Egyptian royalty from years ago. The chemical process existed, but people weren't willing to pay for it (and it isn't all that sensible to preserve a dead body) UNTIL the Civil War. That was the first time in US history that large numbers of young men died far from home, and what with record-keeping having been a tedious, hand-written process, sometimes a family either never heard that their son had died, or they heard that he'd died and he came walking up the road a year later. For the first time in US history, people had the ability and the desire to bring home dead bodies . . . but you can't do that without preserving them. And after that, it caught on.

 

[MrsPete]

I don't know but to me that just seems gross~ I don't want to be buried in the yard like a cat, bird or dog. Yuck!!!

The methods of preserving a body are also gross in the extreme -- just sewing the eyes and lips shut is a major ick factor, and that's not the worst of it. I'm not wild about the idea of cremation either. I think I'll just stay alive and avoid 'em all!