These balls are used to repair damage to coral reefs, and to provide new habitat for fish and other sea life. Many families plant trees, or other native plants near the grave to provide a living memorial.Īlternatives to ground burials include burial in a coral reef, sky burial, burial at sea and hybrid cemeteries.Ĭremated remains are sometimes placed inside concrete coral reef balls, and ceremoniously placed in the sea as part of a reef ecosystem. Some natural burial sites use flat wooden plaques, or a name written on a natural rock. Families that bury their loved ones in nature preserves can record the GPS coordinates of the location where they are buried, without using physical markers. Natural burial grounds employ a variety of methods of memorialization. A weight bearing shroud is another option. While there are generally no restrictions on the type of coffin used, most sites encourage the use of environmentally friendly coffins made from materials like cane, bamboo, wicker or fiberboard. Caskets and coffins are often manufactured using exotic and even endangered species of wood, and are designed to prevent decomposition. However, not all engineered wood products are produced using formaldehyde glues. Some glues that are used, such as those that contain formaldehyde, are feared to cause pollution when they are burned during cremation or when degrading in the ground. Chipboard requires glue to stick the wood particles together. Handles are usually plastic designed to look like brass.
Most traditional caskets in the UK are made from chipboard covered in a thin veneer. In Australia, 85–90% of coffins are solid wood and particle board. Solid wood and particle board (chipboard) coffins with hardwood veneers account for 10–15% of sales, and fibreglass and alternative materials such as woven fiber make up the rest. 80–85% of the caskets sold for burial in North America in 2006 were made of stamped steel. Ĭoffins (tapered-shoulder shape) and caskets (rectangular) are made from a variety of materials, most of them not biodegradable. Natural burial promotes the restoration of poor soil areas and allows for long-term reuse of the land. The problems with the use of formaldehyde and its constituent components in natural burial are the exposure of mortuary workers to it and the killing of the decomposer microbes necessary for breakdown of the body in the soil. When formaldehyde is used for embalming, it breaks down, and the chemicals released into the ground after burial and ensuing decomposition are inert. 3,200 m 3 of embalming fluid, which usually includes formaldehyde.1 484 000 kg of reinforced concrete vaults.1 Environmental issues with conventional burialsĮnvironmental issues with conventional burialsĮach year, 22 500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately:.The first official conservation burial was established in the United States however, natural burial grounds have been used previously in UK and the practice matches the methods used in many ancient and indigenous cultures. Instead, the grave sites are dug by hand. Natural burials also do not use any machinery or heavy equipment for digging the grave site. Landscaping methods may accelerate or slow down the decomposition rate of bodies, depending on the soil system. In addition to restoration ecology, and habitat conservation projects, others have proposed alternative natural uses of the land such as sustainable agriculture and permaculture, to maintain the burial area in perpetuity. Such land management techniques are called "conservation burials". While all natural burials seek to prevent environmental damage done by conventional techniques, some go a step further by using burial fees to acquire land to restore native habitat and save endangered species. Natural burials can take place both on private land (subject to regulations) and in any cemetery that will accommodate the vault-free technique. The grave should be shallow enough to allow microbial activity similar to that found in composting. The grave does not use a burial vault or outer burial container that would prevent the body's contact with soil. It may be buried in a biodegradable coffin, casket, or shroud. The body may be prepared without chemical preservatives or disinfectants such as embalming fluid, which might destroy the microbial decomposers that break the body down. It is an alternative to other contemporary Western burial methods and funerary customs. Natural burial is the interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled. The existing landscape is modified as little as possible.
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