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Final 'Green' Frontier: Cemeteries

Increasingly popular embalming- and casket-free option freaked locals out

By Katherine Thompson, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 2, 2009 11:53 AM CST

(Newser) – As the green movement contemplates the afterlife, more funeral directors are seeing demand for a sendoff without the embalming and sturdy coffins of traditional burials, the Wall Street Journal reports. Natural burials won't necessarily put funeral directors out of business: Yes, simple shrouds are available, but so is a $300 "Himalayan rock salt" urn that "will dissolve within four hours when placed in water."

In one Georgia community, the ick factor of the unconventional proved a stumbling block. Macon residents, squicked out at the unsubstantiated idea that decomposing bodies would contaminate the water supply, voted in November for a measure to require leak-proof coffins. But the movement has taken off elsewhere. Says the director of the Green Burial Council: "I get a lot of calls from people thinking it's a groovy alternative to opening a bed-and-breakfast."

Brad Frost of St. Michaels, Md., looks for a headstone to place a wreath in Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Many funeral home directors were left behind when cremation took off in popularity a decade ago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Traditional caskets and embalming methods might allow more dangerous compounds into the soil than more natural methods, though no one seems to know for sure. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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Final 'Green' Frontier: Cemeteries

Increasingly popular embalming- and casket-free option freaked locals out

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Cemetery Worker Breaks Legs Tumbling Into Grave

Middle Village cemetery was site of surprising fall

Bad Economy Boosts Cremations Over Burials

They're getting even more popular, with families citing savings

In Greece, Graves Are Only for Rent

After that you have to watch while they dig up your relatives

Cops: Man Steals Game Boy From Teen's Casket

He also grabbed a light and 3 games, say investigators

Jack Nicholson Wouldn't Mind Being Eaten by Vultures

Actor, 72, mulls Native American 'sky burial'

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Final 'Green' Frontier: Cemeteries

Increasingly popular embalming- and casket-free option freaked locals out

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

coffin • casket • green products • burial • funeral home • cemetery

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Cemetery Worker Breaks Legs Tumbling Into Grave

Middle Village cemetery was site of surprising fall

Bad Economy Boosts Cremations Over Burials

They're getting even more popular, with families citing savings

In Greece, Graves Are Only for Rent

After that you have to watch while they dig up your relatives

Cops: Man Steals Game Boy From Teen's Casket

He also grabbed a light and 3 games, say investigators

Jack Nicholson Wouldn't Mind Being Eaten by Vultures

Actor, 72, mulls Native American 'sky burial'

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?