What You Need to Know About Green Funerals

Recent surveys show a visible rise in the number of families opting for green funerals and funeral homes Westmont, PA, as a method of their loved one’s final disposition. Many Americans are now open to choosing green Funerals as a natural alternative to traditional burying or cremation.

For many people, a green funeral means much more than a trend for a loved one’s end-of-life celebrations. Let us deep dive into what a green funeral means and why it has become an emerging trend within the funeral industry.

What is a Green Funeral?

A green funeral is the internment of a dead body in a way that doesn’t bar its natural decomposition – allowing the body to recycle naturally. Green burials are eco-friendly and aim to have as little impact on nature as possible.

Unlike burial and cremation, a green funeral doesn’t include burning bodies, using embalming liquids, or using steel-made caskets. Instead, the body is placed in a biodegradable container and lowered into the soil. The objective is to allow complete decomposition of the body and its natural return to the soil.

Why People Are Choosing Green Funerals?

Some of the common reasons prompting people to prefer green burials to traditional funerals include:

It is Environmentally Friendly

Lately, people are increasingly becoming environmentally conscious and are seeking out new ways to reduce the impact on the environment in every way possible. Having a green funeral for the lost loved one has is a great way to honor the deceased as well as lessen the negative impact on nature.

You don’t need embalming chemicals or other chemicals while arranging a green burial and no metal-made container is used to bury the body. All the equipment used is made of biodegradable material like wood, which naturally decomposes over time.

No Waste

Advocates of green funerals posit that traditional burials or cremations can lead to a waste of materials. It is estimated that almost 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluid and 1.6 million tons of concrete are buried along with the dead bodies in America annually.

Green burial foregoes concrete vaults and embalming chemicals and saves precious resources.

Green Funerals Preserve Wildlifefuneral homes Westmont, PA

Many people prefer methods that preserve the threatened species. Green burials natural burial sites and green cemeteries can have little impact on the natural habitat of wildlife.

Such sites encourage the preservation of shrubs, trees, wildflowers and provide the same food chain and refuge to animals and birds as available before. Many green cemeteries don’t use even fertilizers and pesticides.

Traditional funerals, on the other hand, contaminate the soil and natural habitat of animals by releasing chemicals in the soil or air which causes many species to look for alternative habitats.

Green Funerals Are Cost-Effective

The families don’t need to spend anything on buying caskets, concrete vaults, embalming chemicals while planning for a green burial. In practice, it can save money. But since the funeral is a highly personalized event and the bereaved family customizes it in a unique way to best honor the deceased, the price varies significantly from family to family.

But as per the National Funeral Directors Association, an average green burial or funeral homes Westmont, PA, can be substantially less expensive than traditional options.