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Green Cremation: Eco-Friendly, Natural Cremation Option

Green cremation is growing in popularity as a way to be more sustainable and in all aspects of life and death. Here are some eco-friendly cremation options.
green cremation

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Go green, even when you go to a better place. 

Americans use 30 million feet of wood and 1.6 million tons of concrete for conventional burials every year. We live green, but many of us don’t die green. 

Thankfully, there are other approaches than caskets and six-foot holes. Green cremation is far better for the environment. But few people know that they have several green cremation options. 

Look no further. Here is a quick guide to your green cremation services. 

What Is Green Cremation?

Cremation uses flames to reduce a person’s body down to small parts. The body is prepared and then placed on a bed. It is exposed to flames, which burn the body to ashes and bone fragments. 

Green cremation uses a crematorium, but it opts for a more environmentally-friendly approach. The cremation service transports the body directly to their funeral home in a hybrid vehicle. 

The providers remove all plastics from the body, including medical tools. They then wrap the body in a clean cotton sheet. Cotton burns without the waste of plastic. 

The body slides inside a cardboard container. The container burns without the use of fossil fuels, leaving ashes. Like in cremation, the family can dispose of the ashes as they please. 

Water Cremation

Flame cremation can use a lot of energy. If you want to promote energy conservation, you can opt for water cremation

Water cremation uses water and alkali solutions to break the body down. The cremator heats the water and solutions so the chemical bonds that hold proteins together shatter.

The body returns to its fundamental elements. Amino acids, sugars, and salts remain in the water. The water is then disposed of.

Bones are unbroken, but the cremator can pulverize them and give them to the family. The ashes that water cremation produces are identical to the ashes from fire cremation.

Water cremation releases 90 percent less energy than flame cremation. The procedure uses 300 gallons of water, the equivalent of three days of water consumption for an average person. Water cremation is also safer as it does not involve dangerous open flames. 

Disposing of Ashes

You can pick an environmentally-friendly urn. Substances like wicker contain ashes without spilling, and they are biodegradable. They will break down into nutrients that soils can use. 

Ashes do not contain toxic chemicals, but they may have high pH and sodium levels. This can harm plant life. 

Consider alternatives to burying ashes. Burial at sea is perfect for people who love water conservation. You can sprinkle ashes from a boat, or you can place a biodegradable urn into the water. 

Sprinkling ashes into the air creates an even coating. A little ash in the soil won’t impact plants, so try to throw ashes upward. Allow the wind to carry them over a couple of feet. 

You can sprinkle ashes in a person’s garden. Walk through the garden and drop a little bit of ash in each spot. 

You don’t have to dispose of ashes right away. You can take time to think about the right options. You can distribute ashes amongst different people, allowing them to make their decisions for disposal. 

If you want a memorial to your loved one, start a garden of remembrance. Plant a tree at the center and name it in their honor. If they liked the water, you can name an artificial reef after them. 

Green Burial 

Whether you opt for cremation or not, you can bury your loved one without waste. Green burial reduces the waste of a coffin and embalming fluids. 

A person’s grave is hand-dug without industrial equipment. The body is placed in a biodegradable casket, or someone wraps it in a cloth shroud. The body is placed into the grave, and the diggers place dirt back over the body. 

A green burial allows the body to break down into the soil. The human body contains many nutrients that plants can use to grow. Some people include seeds in their soil, allowing grasses and flowers to grow over their bodies. 

Without the expense of a coffin, green burials are far cheaper than traditional ones. A family can reduce its prices further by buying a rural cemetery site

Mushroom Burial Suits

Mushrooms are decomposers. They feed on decomposing flesh, breaking it down into individual nutrients. 

Mushroom burial suits are shrouds lined with mushroom spores. Once buried, the spores eat the body, completely recycling the remains. 

You can use a suit in lieu of cremation. You can also use it to dispose of the bones of a cremated person.

Make sure to use a burial suit in conjunction with green burial techniques. Do not bury a suit in concrete or inject remains with embalming fluids. 

Similar technology is being developed for trees. A funeral service places a body inside a pod, and the body breaks down to provide nutrients for a tree. This technology is in development, but it is an option for future funerals. 

Get the Best Green Cremation Service

The traditional burial wastes wood and natural resources. Green cremation offers an environmentally-friendly solution for a conscious world. 

Green cremation uses cotton and cardboard, not plastic. Water cremation uses water and alkali to break a body down, conserving energy for other important activities. 

You can store ashes in a biodegradable urn. You can bury the urn, or you can sprinkle the ashes on water or land.

If you have a lot of remains, you can perform a green burial without a coffin. Mushroom burial suits use fungi that feed off of a decomposing body. 

Get a service that respects you and your loved one. Green Cremation Texas is the state’s leading green cremation service. Contact us today. 

Marlaena Gonzales

Marlaena Gonzales

Funeral Director
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