Green Funeral Services

As the number of families looking for environmentally friendly funeral options rises, green burial services are becoming increasingly sought after. In fact, according to a press release from the National Funeral Directors Association, it was found that in the 2019 Consumer Awareness and Preference Study that over 50% of respondents were considering green funeral options because of the potential environmental and cost-saving benefits. We are proud to be one of the few Washtenaw County funeral homes offering green burial options to families. There are several cemeteries surrounding the Washtenaw County area allowing for green burials, in a range of 25-50 minutes away.

What is a Natural Funeral?

A natural funeral takes the traditional methods of preparing a body and alters them so they are better for both the environment and the people preparing the body. Things like limiting the harmful contaminants that typically go into a traditional embalming, eliminating the burial vault, and forgoing a conventional casket are all factors that go into creating a more environmentally friendly funeral service.

As mentioned above, when a body is prepared for a natural burial the traditional method of embalming is forgone and exchanged for refrigeration or a non-toxic embalming agent. An important consideration when deciding if a natural funeral is right for you or a loved one is that the removal of the embalming process will limit the time you have available to you to have a visitation or other service. The body is then wrapped in a biodegradable material and placed into the ground without the use of a vault.

What is the Impact of Having a Traditional Funeral Service vs. a Green Funeral Service?

Below you will see some statistics about the impact the United States and North American funeral industry has on the environment.

Over 800,000 Gallons of Formaldehyde is Buried in an Estimated 1 Million Acres of Land Used For Cemeteries

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2.3 Billion Tons of Concrete from Burial Vaults Are Used Every Year - Enough to Build a Swimming Pool for 4.6 Million Homes

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The Equivalent of 4 Million Acres of Forest is Used to Create Caskets - About the Size of New Jersey

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Enough Fossil Fluid is Used for Cremation in North America to Drive You Halfway to the Sun Every Year

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Can Cremation be Considered a Green Funeral Option?

Many assume that, if they are considering a green funeral service, it must be all or nothing. However, this is not true. At each point in the funeral arrangement process there are some small choices that can be made to contribute to a smaller carbon footprint. Choosing cremation over a traditional burial is one of them. Cremation can be considered marginally better for the environment than that of a traditional burial but there are choices along the way of a cremation that can be made to make a better impact on the environment including forgoing embalming or being placed in a "Living Urn." This urn option is a biodegradable urn and planting system that allows cremated ashes to turn into a tree, plant or flowers.

Below you'll find some ideas that can help you make a small but mighty contribution to the environment, even in death.

Tree planting activity at a memorial service or celebration of life
Ask for donations to your local eco-friendly initiative
Ask those to volunteer in your honor with a local eco-friendly initiative
Pick a biodegradable urn or casket
Donate the remaining reception food to your local homeless shelter
Instead of taking flowers home, donate them to your local hospital through a patient services initiative, a homeless shelter, or retirement home

Talk to Us About Our Green Funeral Options...

We appreciate that any small change in a funeral arrangement can make a large contribution to leaving the World a better place than when we started off on it. If you're considering ways to make your funeral more green, call us.