Cemeteries as Toxic Landfills

Traditionally, burying and cremation were sustainable. But with our urban lifestyles and density of populations, such practices are becoming unsustainable. In 2003 Mary Woodsen reported that we are turning cemeteries into toxic landfills by burying 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid—including formaldehyde; 180,544,000 pounds of steel; 5,400,000 pounds of copper and bronze; and 30 million board feet of hardwoods every year. We are polluting the living through our death and leaving behind a toxic legacy.

Which is why there is now talk of green burials. Green burials are organic burials, with a sustainable mission. A philosophy that aims to have the burial site remain as natural as possible without added chemicals, metals or gases. Green burials also allow for the natural decomposition of the body.  Bodies are buried without preservatives, in bio-degradable caskets, shroud, or blanket.   No embalming fluid, concrete vaults, or non-degradable metals are used.

Except for dignitaries who are still preserved and mummified for prosperity, most traditional religions prescribed that the body is buried in a natural environment to promote contact with the elements and the environment. Although in most countries there are laws prohibiting this, there is a new movement across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States and the United Kingdom promoting green burials. This is more in line with the UN Conference on Environment and Development Environmental Program Agenda 21 (for the “21”st Century.)

Green burials are more than just choosing from a variety of biodegradable coffins made from recycled materials. It is about the preparation of the body and the footprint that is left behind. In a 2007 survey by the AARP, 21 percent of Americans older than 50 said they would prefer an ecofriendly end-of-life ritual. And the end-of-life business is responding.

Although cremation has been a greener alternative, using far fewer resources than almost any other option of dealing with the remains, cremation pumps dioxins, hydrochloric acid, sulphur dioxide, and carbon dioxide into the air. Mercury is also emitted when a person with dental amalgam fillings is cremated as well as heavy metals from tatoos. A new alternative to cremation is resomation—bio-cremation—which emits no carbon in the air. Resomation involves placing the body with water and an alkaline (potassium hydroxide) into a stainless steel tank and heating it for several hours until the remains melt. While some of the residue can be placed in an urn, the rest is flushed through the local sewage system. This technique has attracted the unpleasant name of  "toilet burial".

For more exotic burial practices we have to go to the Far East and look at the practice sky burial practiced by Buddhists in Tibet. After carefully preparing the body and making strategic incisions, the body is left on a ledge on a mountaintop, exposed to the weather and to foraging animals—especially predatory birds. The body remains part of the cycle of life.

Although sky burials are not feasible in most urban settings, the business of dying is looking at alternative ways to leave less toxicity in the ground. Re-examining our practice of burial and cremation so that we leave less of a toxic legacy is perhaps our final responsibility in life.

Mario Garrett, Ph.D., is a professor of gerontology at San Diego State University and can be reached at mariusgarrett@yahoo.com