CHAPTER: Green Funerals

5 CE Hours

By: Elite Staff

Learning objectives

ŠŠ List some of the primary principles of green burials. ŠŠ Explain what makes organic and fair flowers more expensive and ŠŠ Describe ways that traditional funerals and burials can be resource- what the certification signifies in each case. intensive. ŠŠ Discuss why cremation is considered both green and not green. ŠŠ Discuss common restrictions in natural cemeteries and explain the ŠŠ Discuss the risk of mercury emissions from dental amalgam during reasons for each. cremation. ŠŠ List three organizations that are associated with organ donation. ŠŠ List five ways to reduce the ecological impact of cremation. ŠŠ Describe alternatives to embalming that preserve the body for a ŠŠ List the minimum green burial standards (Level 1 – hybrid burial period of days. grounds) for Green Burial Council certification. ŠŠ Discuss how fuel and transportation costs can be minimized in ŠŠ List characteristics of sustainable landscaping (greenscaping) that funeral and burial functions. follow the reduce, reuse, recycle, rebuy formula. ŠŠ Explain ways that your business could assist with backyard or ŠŠ Explain the principles of integrated pest management (IPM). home burial products or services.

Introduction

More and more individuals who have been concerned with the of them at that critical time. You can provide these essential services. environment their whole lives are insisting that they maintain the same This chapter will introduce the basics of green burial and explain essential environmentally friendly or neutral quality in death. Survey what distinguishes green products and practices from those that are research confirms that environmentally friendly (“green”) funeral not environmentally friendly. It will also advise you on how to help a options are growing in popularity around the world, as well as in the family choose environmentally friendly products or locations for their United States. One recent study, reported in USA Today in 2010, found natural burial. There are many ways to incorporate green items and that 43 percent of respondents 50 and older would consider a green practices into your business to address the growing interest in these burial – up from about 21 percent in 2007.1 Another, published by the products and services. Once your business provides these features, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in 2007, reported you can join the growing list of eco-friendly funeral homes listed that 89 percent of its magazine readers favored a “green burial” over a with organizations such as the Green Burial Council (http://www. traditional burial or cremation.2 greenburialcouncil.org). In so many cases, those who want to incorporate green practices into The chapter is presented in three parts: their funerals or want to arrange a simple natural home funeral find Part I: Natural funerals and burials; what is and is not green. themselves overwhelmed by the grieving process, unable to do the Part II: Cremations – Green or not green. necessary research, decision-making, and cost-comparisons required Part III: Establishing green grounds.

Part I: Natural funerals and burials – what is and is not green One of the primary principles of green funerals and burial is minimizing allow the body to deconstruct quickly, returning the body to the earth resource use and waste. The following section describes why certain as quickly as possible through the natural process of decomposition. products and services in traditional funerals are not considered green, As you are no doubt aware, traditional funerals and burials can be and distinguishes between environmentally friendly or neutral products resource-intensive. Additionally, cremation – chosen by approximately and practices and those that are potentially harmful to the environment. 33 percent of the population3 – has its own ecological concerns (See Part II: Cremations). Not only do natural burials use far fewer Green funeral practices (also referred to as “natural burials”) do not resources so the body can quickly become part of the earth, they also allow embalming chemicals, metal caskets or reinforced cement to be tend to be less expensive than traditional funeral products and services. buried with the body. The goal is to use as few resources as possible to

Resources used for traditional funerals and burials

Chemicals: More than 830,000 gallons of embalming fluid are used Steel: More than 90,000 tons of steel are used to make more than to preserve bodies that are buried in the ground.4 Embalming fluid 800,000 steel caskets each year.6 is primarily a mix of formaldehyde and ethanol, but many other Concrete: Cement and metal burial vaults, designed to keep the ground chemicals and materials are commonly used to prepare the body. from settling as the casket and body decay, require 1.6 million tons of Wood: More than 30 million board feet of hardwood lumber are used reinforced concrete each year.7 Most traditional cemeteries require the to build approximately 300,000 caskets each year.5 casket to be placed in either a sealed vault made of cement and metal or

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 1 a bottomless grave liner.8 In contrast, green or natural cemeteries do not will become a block of granite. Holes are then drilled across the allow vaults or liners, facilitating the body’s decomposition. bottom to meet the back channel and loaded with black blasting Stone: Thousands of headstones are made from granite and marble, powder. When the explosive detonates, the block is “lifted” or which are quarried using fossil fuels and a fuel-intensive process: Jet cut free from the surrounding stone. The block, about 4 feet deep, 4 feet high and 8 feet long and weighing as much as 10 tons, is burners, heated to 3,000 degrees F, are used to remove the rock from the 9 earth. According to the Monument Builders of North America web site: loaded on a truck for the trip to the manufacturing plant.” “The jet burner is like a small rocket motor burning fuel oil and Water: Traditional cemeteries maintain the landscape with gas- oxygen. The flame leaves the burner at about five times the speed powered mowers and synthetic fertilizers and water irrigation systems. of sound and at about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The burner cuts Natural cemeteries follow different landscaping strategies, using fewer through the granite, forming channels at the ends and back of what resources (See Part III).

What is a green or natural cemetery?

Most green cemeteries don’t look like the traditional cemeteries we metal detector can aid in searching. Others use global positioning find familiar, with green manicured lawns and headstones lined up systems (GPS) to locate sites. neatly. Natural cemeteries tend to look more like nature preserves, A number of organizations facilitate natural burials. The Green Burial with trees, grasses, wildflowers and shrubs growing where the seeds Council (GBC), for example, is a leading independent, tax-exempt, fall. There are often walking paths leading visitors to burial areas, with nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally inconspicuous engraved stones marking individual burial sites. sustainable death care and the use of burials as a means of protecting While each funeral park has its own set of rules, green cemeteries natural areas. Funeral service providers approved by the Green Burial avoid resource-intensive burials in general. The focus is on simple Council agree to the following:10 methods that won’t interfere with the body’s natural decomposition or ●● Itemizing in a general price list eco-friendly service offerings and the intertwined surrounding ecosystems. Some common points are: products, including any green funeral packages. ●● Bodies cannot be preserved with embalming fluids. In some cases, ●● Not offering or making any representations regarding any bodies can be held in refrigeration at the hospital or at a funeral unapproved products (such as caskets, urns, vaults, concrete home until burial. box/grave liners and embalming fluid) as being eco-friendly or ●● Excavation of the burial site is usually by hand to minimize impacts acceptable for green burial. on the surrounding land and to protect native plant diversity. ●● Making available or requiring dry ice, conventional ice, ●● Cement vaults or grave liners are not permitted. Instead, at a green refrigeration or nontoxic embalming with GBC-approved cemetery, the earth is mounded on top of the gravesite and the chemicals for open casket viewings. mound eventually disappears as the earth settles. Native grasses, ●● Accommodating home vigils/viewings and the use of other offsite flowers, trees or shrubs may be planted on the mound to quickly facilities appropriate for funerals. rehabilitate the site. ●● Making at least one employee available to participate in a GBC- ●● Caskets and burial shrouds must be made of biodegradable approved seminar/webinar (minimum four hours) covering materials. No metal or elaborate hardwood caskets are allowed. technical, practical and ethical issues associated with eco-friendly ●● Grave markers are simple engraved stones indigenous to the area. funeral service. Sometimes a native tree or shrub is planted instead. To ensure ●● Not requiring any waiver/disclaimer that would have the effect family members will always be able to find a grave after nature of dissuading a family from choosing eco-friendly/green service rehabilitates the disturbed soil, burial sites are typically marked offerings/products. on a survey map. Some cemeteries insert metal nails at a site so a

Common terminology

The Green Burial Council uses the following definitions and chemical ingredient as previously defined. They must contain nomenclature, which will be used throughout the course: only chemical ingredients that are fully disclosed on a material ●● Category 1: Caskets, urns, shrouds and alternative containers: safety data sheet (MSDS) and cannot contain any chemical ○○ Basic materials of construction for shells, liners, fillers, ingredient described as a “trade secret.” hardware, handles and adornments are to be plant-derived ○○ In any case of conflicting evidence or equivocal documentation, or recycled plant-derived materials. Adhesives and finishes the Green Burial Council reserves the right to deny or suspend and any other products applied to or integrated into the basic its certification. materials of construction are to be based on naturally occurring ●● Category 2: Postmortem chemicals: materials and not contain acrylics, plastics, fiberglass and ○○ Products cannot contain chemical ingredients that are toxic similar synthetic polymeric materials. or otherwise classified as hazardous with accompanying ○○ Materials must not be harvested in a manner that destroys mandatory reportable limits of exposure as defined and natural habitat. In circumstances where such ecological listed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration degradation is suspected, a “trust provider” must be retained (OSHA). An exception is made for generalized nuisance limits by the product manufacturer. for dusts and mists. ○○ Products applied to or integrated into the basic materials of ○○ Products cannot contain chemical ingredients that through construction cannot contain chemical ingredients that are their intrinsic course of action evolve or release a chemical toxic or otherwise classified as hazardous with accompanying ingredient as previously defined. mandatory reportable limits of exposure as defined and ○○ Products must contain only chemical ingredients that are fully listed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration disclosed on a material safety data sheet (MSDS) and cannot (OSHA). An exception is made for generalized nuisance limits contain any chemical ingredient described as a “trade secret.” for dusts and mists. ○○ In any case of conflicting evidence or equivocal ○○ These products cannot contain chemical ingredients that documentation, the Green Burial Council reserves the right to through their intrinsic course of action evolve or release a deny or suspend its certification.

Page 2 Funeral.EliteCME.com Principles of green burials

One of the primary principles of green burial is burying less. A In traditional burials, as the buried body decays, bodily fluids and traditional cemetery buries approximately 1,000 bodies per acre. formaldehyde may leak from the caskets and vaults, potentially This high density means that a typical 10-acre cemetery contains contaminating groundwater. The bigger threat from formaldehyde, enough casket wood to build more than 40,000 homes, more than however, may be to funeral workers. In 2004, the International Agency 900 tons of casket steel, 20,000 tons of concrete vaults and enough for Research on Cancer released information regarding exposure embalming fluid to fill a small backyard swimming pool.11 Wooden to formaldehyde, suggesting the possibility of a heightened risk of caskets are typically made from hardwoods, and few are made from nasopharyngeal cancer or leukemia among embalmers.15 Research forest stewardship certified (FSC) wood, which guarantees the wood sponsored by the National Cancer Institute is currently reviewing was harvested from sustainably managed forests. Maintaining forest funeral worker data to determine whether they have a higher risk of ecosystems are critical to healthy environments; they filter air, stabilize malignancies of the lymphatic and central nervous systems.16 climate by absorbing CO and provide habitat for 90 percent of all 2 Another incentive for green burials is the scarcity of land. Farmland land-dwelling plant and animal species. and natural areas are both under pressure. Every minute, the U.S. loses The use of steel caskets and steel- and copper-reinforced vaults are 2 acres of agricultural land to development,17 with the amount of land considered detrimental to the environment because all metals are purchased for residential and commercial development increasing at mined from the earth and are nonrenewable resources. The extraction almost three times the rate of population growth.18 Cemeteries require and processing of these resources contributes to the 1 billion to 2 the addition of two square miles for new grave space each year.19 billion tons of mine waste that accumulate annually, and pollutes more 12 Being buried in a green cemetery is environmentally neutral or than 3,400 miles of streams and more than 440,000 acres of land. To friendly because: compound the problem, burying all that steel diverts 90,000 tons from ●● They do not accept metal or hardwood caskets, cement vaults or 13 recycling each year. headstones, significantly reducing the earth’s resources that are In contrast, a green cemetery holds 70 to 90 percent fewer bodies per buried with each body. acre, and each is buried in a cloth shroud or in a simple biodegradable ●● Bodies are not embalmed with formaldehyde or prepared with casket made of pine or other recycled materials.14 This low density other chemicals, which protects groundwater from toxins and the allows the cemetery to restrict burials on ecologically sensitive areas. health of funeral employees. Drainage spots, streams, dense wooded areas and areas needing ●● Green cemeteries work to preserve natural habitat and wilderness restoration are left undisturbed. areas instead of altering and manicuring landscapes with non- native plants or grasses that use large amounts of water and chemical fertilizers.

How to assist clients in arranging a green funeral and burial

Traditionally, it is the funeral director who helps the family make practices will be determined in part by the specific laws governing the decisions about a memorial and burial. Those who refuse to offer a funeral and burial trades in your state. green service option may lose out to competitors who are more willing Helping family members locate hard-to-find resources provides a to be flexible in meeting these consumer needs. Your ability to arrange much-needed service. While other local funeral directors may be or assist with a green funeral and burial depends to some extent on reluctant to offer biodegradable caskets or open their business to what services are available in your area. Eco-friendly cemeteries visitation services without having the body embalmed first, you will be are few and far between in the United States (although growing in able to comfortably discuss these new options with family members. popularity). You will find some natural funeral options require a much The following sections outline some common green funeral and burial greater investment in resources than others. Your ability to adopt these options to consider.

Services associated with green funerals

The following services are associated with green funerals: don’t require it, many cemeteries require either a vault with a ●● Assisting with preneed organ and body donation. Fitting into lid or a simpler grave liner. Some require caskets to be made out the green category of reuse, organ and body donation delays the of specific materials. Avoid restrictions on the types of caskets burial of the remains while making them available to others for accepted, and make clear to family members if burial in a specific valuable uses. Organs and tissue can be removed at the time of area requires the casket to be placed inside a vault of any kind death and provide the living with prolonged and better quality of (metal, plastic, concrete, etc). Green funerals require that sites are life. After the organs and tissue are removed, the funeral can then open to non-vaulted burials or use a grave liner that is open at one proceed as planned. Whole body donation to medical schools or end, and accept biodegradable caskets or simple shrouds. research facilities is also possible. Medical schools need bodies ●● Offering a headstone quarried locally. Many cemeteries have to teach future health care workers about anatomy, and research restrictions on size and placement of memorial stones. Be flexible facilities use them to study diseases and find cures. These bodies and try to find a local monument builder who gets stone locally, are used for a period of time and are then cremated. For more on reducing the amount of fuel required to transport it to you. If organ donation, see the following sites: burial is in a green cemetery, choose to plant a native tree or other ○○ OrganDonor.gov (www.organdonor.gov). vegetation. ○○ Donate Life America (http://donatelife.net/). ●● Offering to refrigerate instead of embalm the body. Most ○○ National Living Donor Assistance Center (http://www. funeral directors will want to preserve the body if a viewing or livingdonorassistance.org). visitation with an open casket is desired. If refrigeration isn’t ●● Offering alternatives to a cement vault or grave liner. Buried available, ice or dry ice can be used to preserve the body until around the casket, vaults are designed to prevent the ground from burial (see below). sinking in when the casket and body decompose. While state laws

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 3 ●● Arranging for a direct burial without a viewing or visitation or resource-intensive lawn care. Nor do they allow metal caskets, service. A quick burial avoids the need for embalming fluids. vaults or elaborate headstones. Read more about establishing ●● Offering burial in a green cemetery. With an emphasis on natural grounds in Part III. maintaining a natural setting, these cemeteries don’t use irrigation

Alternatives to embalming

While many assume that embalming is required by law, it is primarily Funeral providers should inform the individuals involved regarding required to preserve the body for viewing. Refrigeration or dry ice, the appearance of the dead body, and the fact that refrigeration does however, can be an appropriate alternative, especially for the first 72 not restore a lifelike appearance to the body. If you feel the body needs hours after death. Funeral homes with refrigeration units can easily some type of preparation, explain exactly what the process involves to refrigerate the body and have a short public or private viewing. the client. Any cosmetic restoration or intrusive process is likely not Most families require only a few days for the funeral process before desired. Do not make decisions about closing eyelids or other standard cremation or burial, and most human bodies do not usually suffer restorative features without discussing it with the family member. deterioration that quickly. Viewing is more important in some cultures, Natural funeral services may include the following: religions or families than others. ●● The loved one is cared for, washed, anointed and dressed in If refrigeration isn’t available, ice or dry ice can be used to preserve organic materials and maintaining the natural appearance of the the body until burial. The amount will vary according to the number loved one, allowing the family to experience the changes that of days required and the size of the body. Dry ice comes in pellets or naturally occur after death. square tabs that must be broken by hand into usable chunks. Pellets ●● The use of essential oils to control bacterial activity and herbs to may be easier to handle, but also evaporate more quickly (dry ice scent the body. doesn’t melt, it evaporates). Wrap the pellets or tabs in towels or other ●● Cooling with the use of dried ice, ice pack and air-conditioning. material and place them under the head and chest and on top of the ●● Vigil supported by the funeral director. Care of family members abdomen of the deceased. Be sure to wear gloves to avoid burning in the home or in the funeral home, as the family wishes. Visiting skin on contact. Dry ice will need to be replaced every day. When dry daily to enable family members to take care of their loved one. ice evaporates, it releases carbon dioxide, so be sure to vent the area Funeral providers who are willing to work with unembalmed bodies and in which you are caring for the body. (An unfortunate environmental otherwise accommodate natural burial services should make sure they are note: Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide that’s harvested as a by-product listed under the Green Burial Council guide (categorized by state, under of the petroleum industry. When exposed to air, it releases this “Providers”) at www.greenburialcouncil.org. Funeral homes typically 20) greenhouse gas. charge a small fee for preparation and daily rate for refrigeration.

Avoiding toxic chemicals

In 2004, the International Agency for Research on Cancer released ●● Be aware of the material safety data sheets (MSDS) for information suggesting that the use of formaldehyde may increase products used in the funeral home. The MSDS lists all the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer or leukemia among embalmers.21 hazardous chemicals and carcinogens in a specific amount of the Current research at the National Cancer Institute is investigating product. Your safety depends on its careful review. whether funeral workers have increased malignancies of the lymphatic ●● Make sure hazardous chemicals are disposed of properly. and central nervous systems. To protect your good health and the Embalming fluids are a potential environmental concern because health of the environment: they may end up in the soil or water. While recent studies suggest ●● Consider using less toxic chemicals or alternatives to the mortuaries do not contribute significantly to ground water most risky embalming products. Specifically, avoid use of contamination,23 preservative fluids can sometimes be released trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), which untreated into the sewer system. Funeral directors should stay are highly toxic potential human carcinogens that persist in the current on scientific data regarding environmental risks and environment for many years. Some funeral professionals offer the minimizing them. See The National Funeral Directors Association use of fluids without formaldehyde, using products such as iodine, (NFDA) recommendations at http://www.nfda.org/articles- salt or natural plant extracts. Other companies have developed their cemetery/article/1465-.html. own less toxic substitutes for the most commonly used compounds associated with increased risk and disposal difficulties.22

Not all waste is the same

Be aware of the qualities of each type of waste produced by a funeral ●● Environmental practices: http://nfdanet.com/component/zine/ home. Medical waste, wastewater, and solid wastes are each associated article/1465-.html. with different environmental regulations, requiring different handling ●● Regulated waste: :http://www.deq.state.ok.us/lpdnew/forms/ and disposal. In some cases, careful product selection can reduce Hazpercent20Waste/NotificationofRegulatedWasteActivity.pdf. potential disposal difficulties. Knowing what constitutes “hazardous Be aware of local rules regarding discharge of wastewater to waste” as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act community treatment versus septic systems. Large capacity cesspools (RCRA), and choosing not to use products associated with it will go (LCPs) were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) far in enhancing your environmental profile. When using formaldehyde on April 5, 2005. Funeral homes operating banned LCPs must cease and phenol products (which are biodegradable when treated correctly), injection to them and remediate any residual contamination. Increased always dispose of wastewater and wastes properly. They should never regulatory compliance and pollution reductions among funeral homes 24 See the following publications to enter floor drains or the ground. has resulted in some technologies that eliminate embalming fluid review proper waste management practices: injection, reduce water consumption and lower the risks to those ●● Best management practices: www.nfda.org/page.php?pID=237. working with embalming fluids. ●● Waste minimalization practices www.nfda.org/page.php?pID=236.

Page 4 Funeral.EliteCME.com Green transportation

Natural funerals try to cut down on transportation resources, by Car. Compared to the fuel economy of hybrids that hover around reducing the number of cars in a funeral procession, for example, 50 mpg, the fuel economy of a standard limo dwindles in the low or through the use of hybrid vehicles. If there is a graveside service, teens. Aside from decreased fuel costs, a hybrid such as a Toyota rent passenger vans or suggest that families carpool to reduce carbon Prius costs less to purchase and maintain than a Lincoln Town Car, emissions. For formal funeral cortèges, hiring a green limo or car making hybrid fleets a more viable economic and environmental service can avoid some degree of carbon emissions. Green car, limo choice to livery car operators. and shuttle services might be hybrids, or use biodiesel or compressed ●● Motor transportation is responsible for about one-third of CO2 natural gas (CNG) powered options. emissions in the U.S., with cars and light trucks accounting for a majority. 27 Together, cars, SUVs and minivans emit more than 300 Hiring a green limo or car service helps you go green because: million tons of carbon each year in the U.S. These emissions are ●● When accelerating, a hybrid rental car will run off a battery-charged equivalent to those generated by a 50,000-mile-long coal train – electric motor, not gasoline, curtailing global-warming-causing which would reach between Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles tailpipe emissions. With significantly better fuel economy, hybrids can 17 times.28 reduce air pollution by as much as 90 percent.25 While at a standstill (a For every gallon of gas a car burns, it emits nearly 20 pounds of CO .29 Thus, a 3,000-mile drive in a vehicle that gets 20 common taxi habit), a hybrid’s engine shuts itself off and the vehicle 2 miles per gallon produces 3,000 pounds of CO . Although hiring a runs on electricity. Every two minutes of idling in a standard car 2 car service that has a hybrid or other biodiesel-fueled fleet may be consumes the same amount of gas required to drive approximately a short-lived experience, those miles traveled will help curb these one mile – a waste of resources and a contributor to smog.26 ●● The livery and limo car service industry is one traditionally carbon emissions. populated with oversized luxury vehicles such as the Lincoln Town

Home funerals30

Many families would like to consider a home funeral or backyard members may wash and dress the deceased or even build a simple burial, but do not know that it is perfectly legal in most states for them casket themselves. When ready for burial, family members can to take their loved ones home in their own car and to keep them (if transport the body to a cemetery themselves or call the funeral cooled) for a number of days. At the time this was written in 2010, home to assist. You can help ensure that the person transporting the only seven states did not permit families to care for their own dead deceased home has the proper permit for transporting the body and at home. These states are Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, follows approved procedures regarding cooling and length of time Nebraska, New York and Utah. before burial. Funeral homes willing to accommodate home funerals By bringing the body home, embalming is avoided and family can go far in putting family members at ease regarding necessary members are able to prepare the body for burial themselves. Family documentation or assisting them in making decisions, providing relatively little assistance or more help as needed.

Backyard burials

The number of backyard burials has increased dramatically in the past Some feel the practice of backyard burial is discouraged because it decade, and along with it, the number of businesses that assist with is not yet common and may negatively affect property values. Others these services. The Funeral Consumer’s Alliance reported that only feel neighbors might find it disturbing to watch someone bring a body two companies aided families holding home funerals in 2002, but now home, hold a funeral there and bury the body in their yard. Green there are at least 45 companies.31 burial preserves are currently in development throughout the country A number of states, including California, Indiana and Washington, require to fulfill the demand for natural burial sites. Burial on family land individuals be buried in established cemeteries rather than on private land. typically depends on an area’s bylaws and one’s own personal feelings Most states, however, allow families to establish domestic burial sites on towards having a deceased loved one on one’s property. their own property, but may designate certain requirements regarding the In most states it is legal to bury a loved one on private property, but location, such as distance from bodies of water, neighboring land or utility there are still not many agencies in the United States that help families poles, or how much soil must cover the body. Most counties ask for at perform a home burial. Funeral professionals can be of great assistance least two feet of earth on top. Before burial, the person in charge must sign to grieving family members, ensuring a dignified, meaningful the burial-transit permit and return it within 10 days to the registration of funeral. Check with your state health department, town zoning the county in which the death occurred. administration and town hall for any restrictions or necessary consents In all cases, individuals are required to meet county and municipal before engaging in home burials. No regulations prohibit burying regulations. Urban and suburban areas are more likely to have the cremated remains of a family member on one’s own property. restrictions than rural areas, in which you may be required to survey Important concerns for backyard burials include the following: the land, record the location of the site and register it as a cemetery ●● If the family moves, they are obligated to report the burial of a with the county. Additionally, the family may need to establish a fund body on the property, which may in some cases negatively affect for maintaining the grounds in the future. Check with the zoning board home values. and board of health in your area for specific instructions.32 33 ●● If the family moves, it is typically impossible to bring the deceased body with them unless the body was cremated and buried in urn. Regulation in each state is different regarding home burials. States that ●● The burial plot should be recorded in town documents. By do not allow this option are Nebraska, Indiana, New York, Connecticut recording the burial plot with the deed to the land, family members and Louisiana. Other states, like Vermont, specify that families may may ensure their visiting rights to burial locations in the future. care for their own dead [1973 Assistant Attorney General Opinion], including transporting the deceased, burial on private property, or “Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love,” a book by Lisa Carlson cremation. In Oregon, Title 97.120(2) leaves it to up to each individual (1981), reports the following: county to develop regulations concerning home burial.

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 5 “In some states, when burial will be outside the county or town state funeral regulations in the United States can be found at http://www. where death occurred, you will need an additional permit to inter isna.net/Services/pages/Funeral-Regulations-in-North-America.aspx. (whether on private land or a cemetery) from a local registrar in In a private graveyard on personal property, there is no need to use that area. The statutes and regulations of some states include depth a casket or other container. Instead, a cloth shroud may be used. The requirements for burial. … Standard practice in many states places bottom of the casket should be at least six feet below ground level. the top of the coffin at least three feet below the natural surface of Burying the body far below ground will discourage animals from the earth. A burial location should be 150 feet or more from a water digging up the body. The body should be located far from a water supply and outside the easement for any utility or power lines.” supply and away from overhead or buried power lines. Carlson’s book provides a helpful guide of state regulations for home funerals and burials. Another reference source with pertinent state-by-

Burial of human remains at sea

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows bodies and ensure that the remains sink to the bottom rapidly and permanently. cremated remains to be slipped into the sea where they decompose The body must be prepared in a way that ensures that it sinks to naturally. Requirements for burying remains at sea include the following: the sea bottom. In most cases, this is accomplished with a coffin ●● Requirements associated with preparation for burial at sea. weighted with concrete, which is not environmentally friendly. Human remains shall be prepared for burial at sea and buried ●● Disposal location and measures for cremated remains. Cremated in accordance with accepted practices and requirements as may remains shall be buried in or on ocean waters without regard to the be deemed appropriate and desirable by the United States Navy, depth limitations specified for non-cremated remains, provided that United States Coast Guard or civil authority charged with the such burial takes place at least three nautical miles from land. responsibility for making such arrangements.34 For example, local ●● Decomposable flowers and wreaths. Flowers and wreaths health departments may require burial or cremation permits. consisting of materials that are readily decomposable in the marine ●● Disposal location and measures for non-cremated remains. environment may be placed at the burial site. Burial at sea of human remains that are not cremated shall take place ●● Notice to EPA within 30 days. All burials conducted shall be at least 3 nautical miles from land and in water at least 600 feet reported within 30 days to the EPA region in writing. deep. Certain areas, including east central Florida, the Dry Tortugas, Florida and west of Pensacola, Fla., to the Mississippi River Delta, Private citizens can arrange for burial at sea on their own, through a require water at least 1,800 feet deep. Refer to the Code of Federal funeral home or a crematory. Burials in inland waters, such as lakes or Regulations for details. All necessary measures shall be taken to rivers, are regulated according to the Clean Water Act and may require a permit.

Navy Mortuary Affairs Burial at Sea program

Active military personnel and veterans can have their bodies or their Remains are not forwarded to the receiving funeral home until cremains buried at sea by the Navy. For more information, call the the coordinator is notified a ship has been assigned and an U.S. Navy’s mortuary program at the toll-free number 888-647-6676, embarkation date is anticipated. The coordinator will advise or see the United States Navy Burial at Sea program, which specifies regarding shipment to the receiving funeral home to allow the following: sufficient time for casket preparation. The casketed remains, the ●● Cremated remains (cremains) must be in an urn and may be request form, supporting documents and the burial flag are to placed in a temporary (plastic/metal/cardboard) container to be forwarded to the receiving funeral home. Once the receiving prevent spillage in shipping. The cremains, along with the funeral home has the casket prepared, the coordinator will make completed Burial at Sea (BAS) package and the burial flag will be the inspection and complete the checklist for the preparation forwarded to the Burial at Sea coordinator at the desired port of of casketed remains. It is recommended that funeral homes embarkation. Prior to shipment, it is recommended that a phone responsible for preparing and shipping intact remains contact Navy call be made informing the coordinator of the pending request. It Mortuary Affairs at the Military Medical Support Office in Great is recommended that the packaged cremains be sent via certified Lakes, Ill., to receive the preparation requirements. Norfolk and mail, return receipt requested. San Diego are the only ports for embarkation of intact remains. ●● Specific guidelines are required for the preparation of casketed To arrange the details, please review the federal Environmental (intact) remains to be buried at sea: Remains must be in a metal Protection Agency’s website for conditions that need to be met for casket. All expenses incurred in this process are the responsibility burial at sea at www.epa.gov/Region4/water/oceans/burial.htm, and of the persons authorized to direct disposition (PADD), who contact the Burial At Sea program at 1-866-787-0081 or http://www. will select a funeral home in the area of the port of embarkation. navy.mil/navydata/questions/burial.html.

Products associated with green funerals

To counter intensive uses of land and resources, green funerals and practice is to offer a biodegradable casket for burial or in a green burials use biodegradable caskets or shrouds and end in cemeteries on cemetery, a simple cloth shroud for purchase. land that remains in a natural state. An easy environmentally friendly

Caskets and shrouds

Forest ecosystems are critical: they filter the air, stabilize the climate trees and have a closed grain), such as maple, cherry, black walnut by absorbing CO2 and provide habitat for 90 percent of all land- and redwood, are commonly used to make traditional caskets. More dwelling plant and animal species.35 Many trees are harvested for than 39 million board feet of hardwood lumber are used to build funeral purposes. Hardwoods (woods that come from deciduous approximately 300,000 wooden caskets each year.36 Laid end to

Page 6 Funeral.EliteCME.com end, those boards would reach from Los Angeles to Cairo. High-end Many companies and individuals are doing for the industrialized caskets are often made from mahogany, an endangered rain forest tree funeral sector what organic farmers and food producers have done for that grows in such a way that loggers may destroy 28 trees for every the agricultural arena, meeting a consumer demand for alternatives mahogany tree they harvest.37 that challenge conventional practices that may have a detrimental environmental impact. These new natural grave goods are stimulating In 2007, more than 1 million of the 1.7 million caskets made were a renaissance in the weaving arts, with handcrafted or recycled paper manufactured from steel, a metal alloy composed primarily of iron.38 Copper and other metal alloys are also used, but in much smaller and alternative fibers made into caskets and coffins. Artists fashion amounts. All metals are mined from the earth and are nonrenewable willow, bamboo, sea-grass and fibers into woven containers and sew resources. The extraction and processing of these resources contributes fabric shrouds of organic cotton, silk and hemp. Each year, more to the 1 to 2 billion tons of mine waste that accumulate annually and has natural versions of traditional funeral goods appear. polluted more than 3,400 miles of streams and more than 440,000 acres Eco-friendly caskets may be made from a minimum of FSC-certified of land.39 In 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oak that was harvested from sustainably managed forests. Additionally, ranked the metal mining industry as the nation’s worst toxic polluter. 40 the wood finish is a natural resin that does not contain petrochemicals, The good news is that steel can be recycled repeatedly and, according to and the interior is organic unbleached cotton. Others are made from the Steel Recycling Institute, all steel products produced today contain bamboo, a rapidly renewable wood – it takes just 59 days to grow back some percentage of recycled steel. 41 Steel caskets buried in cemeteries to full height without replanting. Bamboo options include a fitted liner, divert 90,000 tons of steel from the recycling stream each year.42 waterproof shroud and bamboo headrest. Another popular “casket” is Simple caskets that consume fewer natural resources and energy made from 100 percent recycled paper that is combined with an earth to produce are marketed as biodegradable. They are typically mineral for hardness and strength. The colored versions are overlaid manufactured as plain boxes from common woods such as wicker and with handmade paper. pine. Some are also certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as Offering green options makes sense as demand for these products harvested from sustainably managed forests. Many cardboard coffins is growing. Here are some examples of the many green casket and are made of recycled content and biodegrade within three months. shroud options available: A simple cardboard or pine casket will break down quickly and ●● Cardboard caskets. Simple caskets often made of recycled harmlessly become part of the earth, a requisite for burial in a green corrugated cardboard. The plain exterior can be decorated with cemetery. In cases where a casket is desired (for cemeteries with messages. This casket is suitable for cremation or burial in green restrictions on simple caskets or shrouds), there are a variety of more cemeteries. or less ecologically friendly models. Caskets made of pine are suitable ●● Franciscan burial shrouds. Men’s and women’s shrouds are for cremations, burial in most green cemeteries, and for Orthodox available. Both are brown and come with a wooden TAU cross Jewish burials. The wood for some products is sourced from forests and a traditional white outer cord. The company also includes managed similar to the guidelines approved by the Forest Stewardship guidelines for a secular Franciscan wake service. Council (FSC). The surface should be simply sanded and not finished ●● Purelight shrouds. The Purelight shroud is made of unbleached with stains or varnish. Only biodegradable, non-toxic glues are used. cotton or Irish linen available in white or ivory. This style features The caskets are shipped in a kit with instructions for assembly. a traditional unsewn edge. An optional herbal lining is available as well. All shrouds come with a lowering device of four straps made Fashion need not take a back seat to function. A biodegradable casket of woven jute or cotton. or burial shroud can be as individual as person using it, and will bury ●● Willow caskets. These handwoven caskets are made from willow, fewer resources than a traditional casket made from copper, steel or a rapidly renewable wood. Willow grows up to 8 feet in one year hardwoods. Simple wood caskets, made of pine, oak and other woods and grows from the same crown so it doesn’t need to be replanted are readily available. Other green caskets may be made from willow, each time it’s harvested. hemp, paper and other natural materials.

Forest certification wood

Forest certification was launched over a decade ago to help protect certification organizations that evaluate compliance with these forests from destructive logging practices. Like the “organically standards in forests around the world. The FSC tries to ensure that: grown” sticker on produce, forest certification was intended as a ●● Harvesting rates and clearing sizes do not exceed a forest’s natural seal of approval – a means of notifying consumers that a wood or capacity to regenerate. paper product comes from forests managed in accordance with strict ●● Natural forest conditions needed for wildlife and healthy environmental and social standards. For example, a person shopping ecosystem function are maintained. for caskets would seek a certified forest product to be sure that the ●● Rare, threatened and endangered species and forest types are wood was harvested in a sustainable manner from a healthy forest and maintained and protected. not clearcut from a tropical rainforest or the ancestral homelands of ●● No natural forests are cleared and replaced by barren tree forest-dependent indigenous people. Forest certification is a seal of plantations; new plantations can be established on agricultural and approval for wood and paper products, allowing consumers to use their pasture lands. buying power for good. ●● Adequate conservation zones exist. Increasing consumer demand for certification creates a powerful ●● Chemical use is minimized or eliminated. incentive for retailers and manufacturers to seek out good wood ●● Streams and rivers are protected from soil erosion that degrades suppliers. This in turn prompts forest managers to adopt ecologically water quality and fish habitat. sound certified practices that maintain natural forest characteristics, ●● Workers, communities and indigenous people benefit from the and to move away from destructive techniques such as large-scale forestry operation, and their rights and interests are protected. clearcutting, logging in endangered and old-growth forests, and Forestry operations that meet the standards are granted an FSC forest destruction of natural forests for replacement by barren tree plantations. management certification and audited annually. Forestry operations Formed in 1993, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) runs the are required to make improvements as a condition of certification and forest certification program. It established accrediting and monitors staying certified over time. You can refer to the Forest Stewardship

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 7 Council at http://info.fsc.org/. The site contains a database where you ●● They minimize the use of lumber and avoid the use of hardwood can verify the origin of a certified wood product. cut from tropical and old growth forests. ●● They break down more readily in the soil and therefore meet the Selling biodegradable caskets helps you go green because: requirements for burial in a green cemetery. ●● They avoid the use of metal caskets that contribute to the mining ●● Purchasing simple wooden caskets and fabric shrouds can support industry’s environmental damage. local businesses and reduce the need for fossil fuels in shipping heavy metal and wood caskets.

Choose organic and fair trade flowers or flower alternatives

Worldwide, cut flowers are a $40 billion industry. Americans spend Growing flowers organically avoids the use of these pesticides and about $6.2 billion on them annually, accounting for 4 billion stems per may also be key in fighting global climate change. While conventional year. More than 70 percent are imported from abroad (mainly from farming depletes organic matter through the use of chemical fertilizers, Colombia and Ecuador). These flowers are more likely to be sprayed organic farming uses animal manure and cover crops, which with pesticides and other chemicals. Only 6 percent of flowers sold in actually builds soil organic matter. Organic farming further reduces 43 the U.S. are certified as eco-friendly and socially responsible. atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by using 37 percent fewer fossil 48 Because flowers must enter the country bug- and fungus-free, farmers fuels than conventional farming. The Rodale Institute estimates that if all 160 million acres of corn and soybean farmland in the U.S. often saturate the flowers with pesticides and other chemicals, many were switched to organic farming methods, it would be equivalent to of which are banned or restricted in the U.S. Unfortunately, flower removing 58.7 million cars from the road, and would satisfy 73 percent imports are not inspected for pesticide residues because they are not of the proposed U.S. Kyoto targets for CO reduction.49 food products. As a result, these chemicals don’t stay put and often 2 wash off plants and through soil, blow across landscapes and enter the To ensure that your flowers are, in fact, organic and/or fairly traded, look air through evaporation. Once chemicals leak into the groundwater for third party certification of the grower’s claims. In particular, look for: and soil, they can become part of the food chain and passed on to other ●● U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic certification: animals. They can also adversely affect pollinators, including bees. Your best bet when seeking organic flowers is to look for the USDA Organic Seal. This seal is a third-party guarantee that Some green funerals ask for donations to a charity instead of flowers. your flowers were organically grown as defined by the National If floral arrangements are desired, choose organic or local flower Organics Standards Board, which bans the use of harmful growers, which reduces the carbon and chemical footprint. Choosing pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and genetic engineering. For more organic or fair trade flowers costs more than non-certified bouquets information on locating organic florists and farmers in your area, because the cost of growing these flowers is slightly higher. Premiums check out Local Harvest, EcoBusiness Links, or Biodynamic are sometimes added, too, to be used for community development Farming and Gardening Association listings. projects in flower farming communities. ●● VeriFlora: To ensure that the flowers you purchase are fairly While organic flowers are not necessarily fair trade (and vice versa), these traded, look for the VeriFlora label, which guarantees that both two green attributes do have one great thing in common: They protect the fresh cut flowers and potted plants are certified by America’s health and livelihood of flower farmers. Buying organic is mostly about most comprehensive sustainability standard. VeriFlora, working purchasing a product that has not been treated with pesticides or other with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), partners with farmers chemicals, eliminating a major threat to the health of farmers and workers to ensure environmental sustainability, social and economic who grow the flowers. Fair trade ensures that farmers are adequately sustainability, and product integrity. In particular, the groups compensated for their product and guarantees humane labor conditions, work toward organic growing standards, strict water and energy which often include chemical-free growing conditions. conservation policies and fair labor policies. They were also the first Among the many challenges that South American and African flower to provide a fair trade label for fresh cut flowers and potted plants. workers face (including poverty wages and sexual harassment), health- ●● TransFair: You can also seek out the TransFair label for fairly related problems rank high. Chemicals are sprayed on flower crops in traded flowers (not to mention coffee, tea, cocoa and more). The enclosed, unventilated tents, making it difficult for workers to avoid certification process focuses on fair wages and safe working inhaling or becoming covered in the stuff. According to a 2002 study conditions, vacation and sick leave, and community development. conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS; TransFair also encourages healthy environmental practices, www.hhs.gov), worker exposure to pesticides was highest in greenhouses, including limited pesticide use, conservation of water, treatment where up to 127 different chemicals are used, three classed as extremely of wastewater and protection of ecosystems. Though products they toxic. 44 A United Nations (UN; www.un.org) study found that 60 percent certify are not currently guaranteed to be organic, the group is of workers on flower farms in Ecuador, many of whom were children, working to phase out as many agrochemicals as possible. suffered from pesticide poisoning, with symptoms such as dizziness and Buying organic and fair trade flowers helps you go green because: blurred vision.45 A full two-thirds of Colombian flower laborers exhibit ●● The flowers are grown in natural ways, without the use of synthetic comparable illnesses, including impaired vision, neurological problems chemicals and fertilizers, and safe for workers and the environment. and disproportionately high numbers of stillbirths.46 Children born to ●● Organic farming combats global warming through carbon mothers laboring on flower farms are nearly 50 percent more likely to sequestration. have been exposed to organophosphate pesticides in the womb, resulting ●● Fair trade farming supports earth-friendly, often organic, practices in higher blood pressure and poorer spatial ability.47 that are safer.

Part II: Cremation – green or not green Cremation reduces a body to its elements and eliminates the need for a because land is at a premium.50 In the U.S., cremation is chosen by resource-intensive burial – no metal or hardwood casket, cement burial approximately 33 percent of the population and is expected to increase vault or land for a cemetery (if the ashes are scattered). In addition, to 57 percent by 2025.51 Cremated remains can be simply strewn in embalming is not required if cremation is scheduled soon after death. scattering gardens or other suitable locations. They may also be buried In Britain, cremations account for 70 percent of funerals, largely in cemeteries, but with minimal resources.

Page 8 Funeral.EliteCME.com Choosing cremation helps one go green because traditional burials Increasingly, the industry is investigating the use of alternative fuels are resource-intensive, burying more than 90,000 tons of steel, 1.6 as well as the use of carbon offsets to minimize the energy impact of million tons of reinforced concrete and 830,000 gallons of embalming cremations, but little progress has been made.55 52 fluid each year. Additionally, less land is devoted to housing human Air pollution. Cremation chambers emit particulates including carbon remains. It takes an average of 32 square feet to bury a single coffin, monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, dioxin, requiring the addition of two square miles for new grave space each furans, mercury, cadmium and lead. Mercury emissions from a body’s 53 On the other hand, cremation is associated with drawbacks such year. dental amalgam fillings are a primary concern (see below). The as energy use and air pollution. average cremation produces about 50 kg of carbon dioxide, which is Energy use. The natural gas or propane energy needed to accomplish the same as driving a car about 136 miles.56 Each year, enough natural the cremation process is significant. Cremation chambers are heated to gas is burned at crematories in North America for a car to travel the between 1,400 and 1,800°F for approximately two-and-a-half hours.54 distance to the moon and back 84 times.57

Mercury58

Mercury in dental amalgam was considered safe to be used in the chiefdoms of the Pacific Northwest, among Northern Athapascan the mouth because the oral cavity does not come in contact with bands in Alaska and among Canadian cultural groups. An increase temperatures high enough for the mercury to vaporize. The heating in environmental awareness has sparked creative efforts on how to processes used in crematoriums, however, vaporize the mercury in remove amalgam fillings to reduce the amount of dangerous chemicals dental amalgams, which can eventually build up in the atmosphere, released into the air. water and earth, causing harm to animals and humans. 59 How much mercury is emitted during cremation is unclear. In the Since cremation was not commonly practiced in the past, the effects U.K., it is estimated that cremation is responsible for about 16 percent of resulting vaporized mercury had not been closely examined. Today, of mercury pollution.62 In the U.S., where amalgam is one of the most crematoriums stand as the third largest source of mercury emissions, common dental materials used (the mouth of an elderly person has an behind steel and cement manufacturing. Those most concerned with average of 8.6 amalgam restorations), and mercury makes up nearly 50 this issue are exploring ways to regulate crematoriums so that future percent of an amalgam restoration, it is estimated that each cremation contamination can be reduced or eliminated. Recommendations emits approximately 3.2 grams of mercury. 63 Based on a study of have been brought to government officials all over the United States. one crematory, the U.S. EPA estimated that 0.8 tons of mercury Minnesota presented a bill in the 2007-2008 legislative session was released from crematories in 1995.64 However, according to the requiring the removal of amalgam restorations prior to the cremation American Dental Association, the use of mercury in dental amalgams process. While this legislation did not pass, bill writers continue to is declining and is currently at 30 percent, down from 45 percent in work on a proposal that would be adequate as law. 60 In Colorado, 1999. Therefore, they say, mercury emissions from crematories are the Department of Public Health and Environment has launched the expected to eventually decrease.65 Mercury-Free Colorado campaign, which, in part, focuses on efforts to With the growing elderly population and better oral health measures, 61 There are also several remove mercury before the cremation process. many people die with heavily restored mouths. Forty years ago, about other states whose community members and political leaders have 75 percent of those over the age of 75 were without teeth. Today, the begun to address the issue of mercury contamination. same percent is buried with teeth. 66 By 2025, it is estimated that 57 Recently, states across the country including Minnesota, Maine, percent of people who die in the United States will be cremated, a Vermont and Colorado proposed legislation to address the substantial increase from 20 years ago.67 environmental hazards of mercury contamination that are directly Many states have enacted legislation and written regulations with the related to dentistry by recommending the removal of amalgam fillings goal of reducing mercury emissions to air, land and water. This URL prior to the cremation, disposal of a corpse by fire. It is an ancient and will direct you to the laws of your state: http://www.epa.gov/osw/ widespread practice, second only to burial. It has been found among hazard/tsd/mercury/laws.htm#

Working with a crematory

While some individuals prefer to make arrangements with a crematory ●● Check certification of staff by the Cremation Association of North directly, others prefer to work through a funeral home. In choosing or America. recommending a crematory, take the time to:68 ●● Explain which costs are associated with the cremation. Depending ●● Tour the facility and ensure it is maintained as a clean and well- on the cost, it may include some or all of the following: taking organized facility. the remains from the place of death, a viewing prior to cremation, ●● Ensure that the identifying documentation is checked and a casket or container, cremation itself, and the cost of the urn. confirmed before the processing begins. “Direct cremation” involves fewer fees; there is no viewing, and ●● Ensure that family members are able to witness the cremation (or the body goes directly from the place of death to the crematory. part of it), if desired. Fees are included for a cardboard casket and cardboard urn.

Containers

To ensure that the crematory consumes a minimum amount of fuel for While no law requires that the body be cremated in a casket, some the task and releases fewer pollutants, the body should be cremated states do require an “alternative container” (typically, a cardboard in a cardboard container or shroud instead of a casket. If the family box). Additionally, family members who want to save money or energy members prefer a more traditional looking casket, they can choose may want to transport the remains from the place of death to the a “cremation casket,” which burns more quickly and cleanly than funeral home or crematory on their own. Be sure they are aware that a traditional casket. Some prefer to use a temporary “rental casket” they will need a number of documents, including the death certificate, [Harris] for the viewing and move the body to a shroud or cardboard as well as disposition and transit permits from the county registrar and casket before cremation. a cremation permit.

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 9 More crematories are using filters to limit contamination of pollutants Laws regarding scattering of remains vary, but one may always legally like mercury. In the future, there will likely be certification for scatter cremated remains on one’s own land. Scattering remains on any crematories with emission controls. Newer cremation chambers private land requires the permission of the landowner. The National often have water scrubbers installed in the exhaust ducts to clean the Forest Service does not regulate the scattering of ashes on a federal combustion gases and remove air pollutants. Yet, their effectiveness level, but states may vary in their policy regarding the practice. The is in question. A study released by the Cremation Association of National Park Service typically allows scattering on public lands, North America (CANA) showed that these devices had little effect on but requires the individual to fill out a form for the specific park in emissions and pollutants. The Green Burial Council is formulating advance. In some cases (with a large group, for example), a public cremation standards and hopes that technologies to reduce or eliminate assembly permit may be required. For scattering ashes at sea, refer to mercury and other pollutants would be available in 2010.69 the application form at: http://www.nps.gov/grca/parkmgmt/upload/ Scatter_Ashes_App200911.pdf.

How to reduce the ecological impact of cremation

If you choose cremation, you can minimize the environmental effect ●● Don’t bury the urn inside a solid burial container. Find a cemetery of using natural gas – a non-renewable fossil fuel that contributes to that doesn’t require the urn to be placed in a concrete or metal greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution – with these suggestions: container. These containers, designed to withstand the weight of ●● If you’ll be handling a cremation, you might arrange to purchase the earth and foot traffic so the ground won’t cave in, are a waste carbon offsets, which support eco-friendly projects that remove of resources. greenhouse gases from the air. ●● Find a cemetery that buries urns in smaller plots instead of casket- ●● Plant a tree to improve air quality in the deceased’s honor. sized plots, to conserve land. ●● Choose a simple cardboard casket made of recycled cardboard ●● Choose low-energy methods to scatter the remains. For example, or other easily combustible casket. You can purchase these scattering in a local state park (after obtaining appropriate permits) independently if the crematory does not offer one. There is no law has a lower eco-impact than, say, shooting the remains into space. that says a body must be cremated in a casket, but most crematories ●● Choose a crematory that has been approved by the Green Burial require at least a cardboard one for easy handling of the body. Council. The organization is currently finalizing standards for ●● Remove all unnecessary items from the casket before cremation to cremation facilities and disposition sites. Check the council’s minimize cremation time and harmful fumes. website for updates. ●● Choose a crematory with newer, high-efficiency equipment and ●● If your business is handling details regarding a scattering of ashes ask whether emissions are monitored to ensure they don’t exceed over a body of water, try to minimize the number of vehicles used allowed limits. According to the Green Burial Council, older (automobiles and boats, for example) with an eye to limiting fuel crematories can use twice as much energy as newer ones. use as much as possible. Changes may include the number, size or ●● Choose low-impact handling of cremated remains. Placing the urn type of vehicle. in a columbarium (memorial shelter) requires resources to build the While those seeking a simpler, less expensive and more environmentally structure as well as for maintenance. Low-impact options include friendly funeral and burial alternative often choose cremation, the scattering (on land or at sea), placement in a decorative urn or burying. process does use fossil fuels and in and of itself does not save land ●● Bury the ashes in a biodegradable urn that will harmlessly become from development nor protect or restore wildlife habitat. Projects like part of the earth. Avoid plastic, ceramic and glass or other non- artificial reefs (see below) are notable exceptions. All levels of green porous containers that don’t break down easily, if ever. burial projects can include cremated remains, though some require a heavy dependence on cremated remains.

Scattering of ashes and the Clean Water Act

States and local regions may implement their own policies and governing authority. Some states, like California, require that ashes be regulations regarding the scattering of ashes in inland waters, which are removed from containers before scattering, while other states allow the protected under the Clean Water Act. Consult local regulations regarding use of biodegradable containers made to disintegrate in the water. requirements and the necessity of a permit from the state or local

Cremation urns

Be sure the urns chosen are appropriate to the task. Keepsake urns urns guarantee that they are made from at least 50 percent recycled are kept for lengthy periods of time and must be sturdy enough for materials. One of these is made from post-consumer recycled plastics this purpose. They are often carefully chosen works of art. Do not and claims to use the equivalent of 41 recycled one-gallon milk jugs. mistake a keepsake urn with an eco-friendly biodegradable urn. Some Some urns are specially designed for scattering ashes on the ocean or biodegradable urns are made with paper, which will not serve long-term other large bodies of waters. They will float for approximately three use as a container. Most urns have removable tops to allow placement to five minutes before sinking to the ocean floor to biodegrade. Urns of the ashes. One inventive urn has a semi-porous top in which a tree placed in bodies of water may be made with unfired clay that’s painted seedling can be planted. Environmentally friendly urns are made from with water-soluble colors, suitable for burial or scattering at sea. sustainable materials, like bamboo, a rapidly renewable wood. Some

Cremation disposition

One of the most inventive ideas for disposition of remains has been and hardened, eventually becoming a marine habitat. Individuals the construction of sections of artificial reef, augmenting existing may participate in the creation of the concrete ball, if desired. An reefs in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. These memorial reefs outdoor viewing of the reef and its placement are usually arranged. are made from cremated remains and concrete poured into a mold Deployment sites can be found in Florida, Texas, North Carolina,

Page 10 Funeral.EliteCME.com Maryland and New Jersey. The size of the reef ball determines The following policies have been approved by the Green Burial its price. Casting, viewing and placement is typically included. Council and apply to memorial reef development. Funeral homes are encouraged to develop partnerships with existing organizations or consider providing necessary services. Category one: Undersea memorial reefs

●● Start-up criteria – An undersea memorial reef must: ○○ Conduct undersea burials in a manner that minimizes ○○ Be manufactured or fabricated from materials that are non- disturbances to the marine ecosystem. harmful to marine life. ●● Customer relations criteria – Operators must: ○○ Be placed only in areas that have been recommended, ○○ Allow clients/families to be involved with the burial and ritual approved and permitted for placement by the appropriate process so long as participation does not conflict with state law governing authority for artificial reef placement. or with these protocols in form or substance. ○○ Be placed at depths below conventional maritime and ○○ Not provide misleading information to the media or to the recreational traffic. general public. ○○ House human remains in a permanent manner that does not ○○ Comply with state and federal regulations regarding pre- cause harm to the marine environment or leach back into the funding and disclose all goods and services being pre-funded environment. along with information detailing the percentage of funds set ○○ Make available proof of stability testing by an independent aside to fulfill an obligation. agency that reef can withstand a Category 3 storm. ○○ Fully disclose the appropriate permits involved, the length that ●● Operations and management criteria – Operators must: the permit is available for active reef building purposes, who ○○ Use certified divers for all undersea placements of cremated holds the permit and who is responsible for the maintenance remains (for existing reef structures). of the reef site (if a specific site is designated as a part of the ○○ Document every interment. pre-funding agreement). ○○ Develop, document and implement a plan to monitor reef ○○ Document all aspects of the commitment for reef growth and maturing of reef. memorialization, including who will be memorialized, where ●● Burial criteria – Operators must: they will be memorialized and what product will be used. ○○ Utilize undersea interment practices that conform to all relevant ○○ Provide a plan disclosing how the company will fulfill its state, federal and international laws regulating such reefs. commitments in the event the designated sites are no longer ○○ Ensure that cremated remains of individuals will be available for placement. permanently contained within the burial reef structures.

Category two: Scattering grounds

●● An approved scattering ground must be protected in perpetuity utilized for such a purpose and the name of the environmental through the use of a deed restriction or a conservation easement. organization overseeing these monies. ●● Any representations made that an environmental purpose will be ●● Family members may scatter the ashes, bury them in a furthered from the proceeds of the sale of scattering rights must biodegradable urn or place them in a keepsake urn. also include information regarding the percentage of money being

Resomation

Resomation (a form of liquidation using potash lye and water), has in this liquid are still entirely intact and can be returned to the soil. been suggested as a green alternative to cremation. In this patent- The second is bone ash, pure calcium phosphate. This can be also be pending process, even embalming fluid and chemotherapeutic drugs used in horticulture. Resomation allows one to fully return the body are neutralized. to the earth without adding unwanted material to the soil. Implants A funeral involving resomation is exactly the same as one involving or prosthetics are left behind, some in reusable condition after cremation until the point at which the coffin is committed from sterilization and repackaging. After resomation, bone remains are left view. The coffin is placed in a special chamber and instead of fire, behind in the form of pure white ash. As with cremation, these remains resomation uses a water and alkali-based method that uses the same can be placed in an urn and returned to the loved ones. chemistry as in natural decomposition but is much faster. Resomation With resomation, one can still have a dignified ceremony. The body is takes roughly the same time as cremation but uses less energy, placed in coffin lined with a silk bag that seals to become an enclosed produces significantly less CO2 and avoids putting mercury and other silk coffin within the resomator. After the cycle, the soft bone ash can harmful contaminants into the atmosphere. According to one source, be powdered and put in an urn as one would use with cremation. In “the total carbon footprint of a resomation is 18 times less than that of resomation, according to one company, every single bit of ash is the a cremation.” 70 Additionally, resomation is a 100 percent mercury-free body of the departed, not a mixture of whatever was in the furnace process, something neither regular burial nor cremation can boast. with the body. According to this source, more than 2,000 resomations 71 More information When the body has been fully liquefied, it is separated into two main have been performed in the United States, so far. can be found at http://www.resomation.com/index.htm and http://www. parts. The first is a bio-fluid that is basically a collection of all our fbca.org.uk/defra-oct06.asp. building blocks: salts, sugars, peptides and amino acids. The nutrients

Part III: Establishing green grounds The basic design of the traditional cemetery in North America has grounds (NBG) represents a new and increasingly popular approach remained virtually unchanged since the first rural park cemetery was to personal memorialization and is becoming an important option to developed in the late 1700s. The development of formal natural burial address the issue of reduced space in current facilities. Only a small

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 11 number of green cemeteries currently exist in the U.S. Their number, In natural cemeteries, native plants grow over the graves, and however, is expected to rise, following the lead of Great Britain, which footpaths connect memorial structures located within emerging boasts about 200 such cemeteries.72 woodlands. Natural burial grounds help establish and protect natural Natural burial grounds accept bodies for burial as well as ashes for burial habitat while providing a spiritually fulfilling burial ritual. Whether or scattering. Cremated ashes, too, can be buried or scattered within the planning a natural burial ground or something more conventional, dedicated area. A number of natural cemeteries found in Germany house careful and creative planning and the right location are critical. only cremated remains. In these areas, ashes may be scattered or buried Green cemeteries provide a unique opportunity to mix commercial within the ground, or placed in a biodegradable urns buried along the drip use and land conservation. Sites that have had previous uses (quarries line of mature trees and marked with small memorial tags. Natural burial or industrial sites, for example) may be rehabilitated to some extent grounds are more common in the United Kingdom and across Europe, or have restricted future uses. If there is no green cemetery near you, where legal standards have been developed to facilitate the process. consider dedicating an unused section of land to this use. Traditional Countries like New Zealand and the U.K have a formal process allowing cemeteries with undeveloped land can be opened to green burials the deceased to be buried in an area that has been dedicated to burial with in many cases. To find out about existing green cemeteries, how to vegetative surroundings. Here in the U.S., natural burial policy is largely dedicate land to a natural cemetery, or how to get on a list of resources unwritten, with each state specifying different practices or none at all. for green burial, see these websites: Creating natural burial grounds is a way to address the limited ●● The Green Funeral Site lists green cemeteries by state: http://www. available burial space and increase open space with recreational, thegreenfuneralsite.com/GreenCemeteries.html. vegetative areas. Britain, for example, is using natural burial sites ●● The Centre for Natural Burial provides listings of green cemeteries to reestablish the countryside with woodlands and grassy meadows. in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and other countries: http:// These areas use native trees, selected by the deceased or their family naturalburial.coop/USA/. from a range of species as memorials. Princess Diana is perhaps the ●● The Green Burial Council: www.greenburialcouncil.org. most famous individual buried in a woodland cemetery.

Minimum green burial standards

Minimum green burial standards typically require: ●● Cemetery legislation protects natural burial preserves in perpetuity ●● No embalming fluids. from future development while the establishment of a conservation ●● Biodegradable casket (but no endangered tropical woods). easement prevents future owners from altering the original intent ●● No vault. for these burial grounds. Simple green burial could occur in a contemporary cemetery or ●● Planting native trees, shrubs and flowers on or near the grave churchyard. Care should be exercised so the process does not waste establishes a living memorial and helps form a protected wildlife resources (as is the case in most traditional burials) and does not preserve. A completed natural burial preserve is a green place with introduce toxic agents. The standards for this level would involve no trees, grasses and wildflowers, which in turn bring birds and other net degradation of the existing wild areas and could provide some wildlife to the area. minimal habitat for native fauna. The criteria include: ●● Natural burial ground typically use grave markers that don’t ●● No degradation of existing areas with conservation value. intrude on the landscape. These natural markers can include shrubs ●● Avoiding landscaping with invasive plants that could be spread and trees, an engraved flat stone native to the area or centralized outside the confines of the cemetery, or those plants that destroy memorial structure set within the emerging forest that provides remnant habitat within the project. places for visitors to sit. Native trees, vegetation and stones may be ●● Could include landscaping with non-invasive, non-native plants placed over or near the grave in place of a conventional cemetery that provide habitat for nesting birds or food sources (not including monument. The resulting green space establishes a living memorial invasive seeds) for birds and other animals. and forms a protected wildlife preserve. Families may also “lease” ●● Irrigation is not used, nor are pesticides and herbicides applied; trees (one tree may be used for a certain number of locations). instead, a natural burial preserve protects and restores nature while ●● As in all cemeteries, there are careful records kept of the exact establishing a place where family and friends can visit and be at peace. location of each interment, often using modern survey techniques such as GIS (geographic information system).

Green Burial Council certification

The Green Burial Council certifies four categories of cemeteries: 3. Burial containers are to be limited to those made from materials The order in which these categories are listed and discussed reflects that are nontoxic, nonhazardous and natural plant derived, with increasing requirements to meet the particular standard. Each level of shrouds allowed. certification is in addition to the previous-level(s) requirements. 4. An integrated pest management (IPM) must be implemented, so Level 1: Hybrid burial grounds as to prohibit the use of pesticide other than instances where it is 1. This facility shall not require the use of a vault (partial, inverted or required to eradicate invasive species. otherwise), a vault lid, concrete box, slab or partitioned liner. Level 3: Natural burial grounds 2. Decedents cannot be required by cemetery policy to be embalmed. This facility must meet all of the requirements for Level 2 and 3. Eco-friendly burial containers of any kind are to be additionally meet the following start-up criteria: accommodated, including the use of shrouds. ●● Conduct an assessment (to be done by an independent professional Level 2: Low-impact burial grounds in the field of biology/restoration ecology) that identifies any 1. The facility, or a designated portion of the facility, must be reserved issues related to endangered species of plants/animals, cultural for burial that does not require the use of a vault (partial, inverted or resources, and hydrology. otherwise), a vault lid, concrete box, slab or partitioned liner. ●● Develop a plan for limiting visitation to sensitive areas. 2. Decedents are not to have been embalmed or embalmed only with ●● Develop a plan for limiting the types, sizes and visibility of GBC-approved nontoxic chemicals. memorial markers/features to preserve or restore naturalistic vistas

Page 12 Funeral.EliteCME.com in the cemetery landscape and (where appropriate) to landmarks ○○ Conduct an evaluation to determine potential erosion issues outside its borders. and measures necessary to prevent them. ●● Operations and management criteria. A natural burial ground must: ○○ Develop a plan for limiting visitation to sensitive areas as well ○○ Develop a plan for dealing with unauthorized grave decoration as policies for families who choose “back country” or “off and landscaping. trail” burial. ○○ Develop a “systems and operations” manual to be given to all ○○ Compile a plant list for use as memorial features for every staff members, contractors and volunteers who communicate area or “zone” of the property where burial will take place, the above criteria and the goals and methods of meeting them. and a list of plants appropriate for use in restoration and/or ○○ Establish an endowment fund to ensure the long-term preservation of native vegetation. maintenance of the land and its trail system by setting aside at ●● Operations and management criteria. A conservation burial ground least 5 percent of all burial plot sales. must: Level 4: Conservation burial grounds ○○ Develop a plan for using native plants and for protecting or Meet the requirements for Level 2 and additionally meet the following: rescuing locally rare plants. ●● Land criteria. A conservation burial ground must: ○○ Establish an endowment fund to ensure the long-term ○○ Be contiguous to or in a position to augment the conservation maintenance of the land and its trail system by setting aside at goals of an ecologically significant park, wildlife corridor, least 5 percent of all burial plot sales. critical habitat area or permanently protected open space; or ○○ Utilize excavation and burial techniques/technology that (with appropriate management practices) be large enough on minimizes impacts on surrounding land, and protect native its own to be considered a landscape-level conservation effort. plant diversity. ○○ Operate only in areas of the property where burial would not The Green Burial Council applies the following standards to all levels degrade the land and the surrounding landscape. of natural grounds:73 ○○ Be owned by or operated in conjunction with a government ●● Customer relations criteria. agency or a nonprofit conservation organization that is ○○ Representations made through websites, in marketing recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity materials, to members of the media, as well as the naming of and in business for at least five years (the “conservation any affiliated businesses owned by the cemetery operator, must partner”). The conservation partner must have legally binding not have the effect of misleading the public or “blur the lines” responsibility for perpetual stewardship of the land, both in the between the different levels of GBC certified burial grounds. operational facility and in the conservation area(s), and must ○○ Clients and families must be given the opportunity to set all conservation policies. be involved with the burial and ritual process so long as ○○ Utilize a deed restriction (if operator is a nonprofit participation does not conflict with state law or with these conservation organization that has been established for at least protocols in form or substance. five years) or a conservation easement that incorporates these ●● Funeral home criteria. A funeral home that operates on the standards. A conservation easement must also conform to all premises of any GBC-certified burial ground must also be certified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code Section 170(h) and by the Green Burial Council. provide for public access to and through the site, particularly ●● Legal criteria (except for hybrid burial grounds): Adherence to the to connect it to adjoining protected open space, to the extent certification requirements at any level must be guaranteed by deed public use of the property is compatible with ecological goals. restriction, conservation easement or other legally binding and ●● Start-up criteria. A conservation burial ground must: irrevocable agreement. Such agreement(s) must run with the land ○○ Conduct a biological evaluation including baseline information and be enforceable in perpetuity, equivalent to the force of on existing geology, hydrology, soils and topography, and requirements for perpetual maintenance of conventional cemeteries. on both existing and potential vegetation and wildlife. This In some instances, the GBC will allow for nonprofit operators to evaluation must be used by the facility designers and operators utilize cemetery “rules and regulations” as a means of memorializing to ensure that existing site resources are not degraded and the Green Burial Council-approved protocols/practices. that the potential for re-introducing native species is given appropriate consideration in design and planning.

More about level 1: Hybrid burial grounds

Hybrid burial grounds are cemeteries that accommodate both traditional ●● A concrete grave liner is mandatory but for a hybrid natural burial, burial practices and green burial without vaults, and may also include a liner without a bottom is used. This permits direct contact of the sustainable landscape design. In some cases, these are traditional remains with the earth. cemeteries providing green burial in a special section of the grounds. ●● Prior to placement of the liner cap, the family has the option to Hybrid burial grounds may be conventional cemeteries offering the have (and participate in) the liner space, now occupied by the option for burial without the need for a vault (partial, inverted or remains, being filled with soil. otherwise), a vault lid, concrete box, slab or partitioned liner. Hybrid ●● After the liner cap is placed, the gravesite soil is replaced into the burial grounds shall not require the embalming of decedents and must grave. The family also may participate in this filling process. allow for any kind of eco-friendly burial containers, including shrouds. ●● Following interment, the sod is placed, a standard flower vase A hybrid natural burial is accommodated as follows: installed and the family has the option to place a permanent memorial. ●● Remains are prepared for burial without embalming and clothed or ●● For hybrid natural burials, the fees for lots and services are those set wrapped in garments made of natural, fully biodegradable fabric. out in the rates for the interment location used. The maintenance, ●● Remains are buried in a biodegradable casket or alternative memorialization and visitation of hybrid interment sites are subject container made from sustainable wood, wicker, recycled cardboard to the rules and regulations for the interment location used. or natural fiber. ●● The grave is opened as per standard practice, but the soil remains beside the grave during the interment service (not transported away as per conventional interment).

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 13 More about level 2: Low-impact burial grounds

Low-impact burial grounds require the adoption of burial and inverted or otherwise), vault lids, concrete boxes, slabs or partitioned operational practices that are non-toxic and energy-conserving. These liners, and by prohibiting the burial of decedents embalmed with toxic facilities may lie within a dedicated section of a conventional cemetery chemicals as well as banning burial containers not made from natural/ or make up an entirely separate cemetery. A low-impact burial ground plant-derived materials. In addition, a low-impact burial ground must achieves GBC certification by prohibiting the use of vaults (partial, have in place a program of integrated pest management (IPM).

More about level 3: Natural burial grounds

Level three natural burial grounds offer a green burial that may existing cemetery or an acre or two on a working farm. While a 5-acre or may not be overseen by independent conservation authorities. site can have significant conservation and social value (a scenic Natural burial grounds also engage in restoration planning and land promontory overlooking the ocean, backing into a national park, stewardship, but use a restrictive covenant to ensure that they will for example), in general, anything under 15 acres is problematic – only be operated as green cemeteries. Natural burial grounds require particularly if burial density is low and the endowment possibilities are adherence to all the low-impact burial ground practices/protocols limited. Smaller areas can have a problem with long-term management and be designed, operated and maintained to produce a naturalistic funding if they follow low-density burial rules (this can be mitigated appearance, based on use of plants and materials native to the region, by a greater dependence on ashes scattering and burial, large donor and patterns of landscape derived from and compatible with regional endowments or endowments from other sources). These projects could ecosystems. Such landscapes may be part of ecological restoration, but have great social value as “pocket parks” for neighborhoods, providing for this level of certification, complete restoration is not a requirement. special benefits for those living within a five-minute walk, and helping The minimum standards: expand the total green area in these communities as well as provide ●● Green burial. links to larger natural areas. ●● Diversity of native flora and fauna in the burial area is maintained Enhancing the ecological and social value of a project to produce the or enhanced. highest standards might include: ●● Good initial biological surveys. ●● Linking with a larger “sister preserve.” ●● Careful in-site planning for trails and interment areas. ●● Linking with neighborhood sacred space/chapels. The main difference between these projects and the next level is ●● Expanding educational opportunities through revelatory landscape the intrinsic conservation value of the land itself. Size is generally design and linkages with area schools. the limiting factor, although in special cases, small areas might be ●● Playing a role in conservation of rare plants or animals – for considered critical habitat. Most of the projects in the U.K., for example by “growing out” an endangered species of plant on example, are less than 5 acres, and are often the back end of an graves, with the excess production of seeds or plants used to restore other landscapes.

More about level 4: Conservation burial grounds

Conservation burial grounds, the most environmentally friendly option, ●● Memorial landscapes should not be defined by the green burials offer embalming-free and vaultless burial and use the process to restore that occur within them. Generally, 90 percent or more of the the land that is overseen by independent conservation authorities. surface area should be free of graves and infrastructure. The burial Conservation burial grounds are protected by conservation easements function would be an important part of the site’s identity and sense and use principles of restoration ecology to rescue locally rare plants. of place, but not the overwhelmingly dominant identity. In addition to meeting all the requirements for a natural burial ground, ●● Specific steps to ensure that projects protect and enhance conservation burial grounds must further legitimate land conservation. biological and social value (and that lead to excellence) : A conservation burial ground must protect in perpetuity an area of land ○○ Land selection criteria based on conservation science and specifically and exclusively designated for conservation. A conservation community needs. burial ground must involve an established conservation organization ○○ Visitor controls. Emphasis on quality of experience, not that holds a conservation easement or has in place a deed restriction quantity – particularly in “back country” areas. guaranteeing long-term stewardship. ○○ Association with a regional, landscape level conservation Conservation burial is natural burial that serves a higher, significant effort, ideally contiguous with a larger core natural area. conservation purpose. ○○ Thoughtful design and management to ensure that different uses do not conflict with each other. The minimal standards: ○○ Permanent staff who know and love the site. ●● Green burial. ○○ Development of volunteer corps. ●● All of the other requirements of “green burial in a natural setting” ○○ Active programs for education, arts, scientific research. including highest standards. ○○ Development of rituals that bind natural and human ●● Projects have a high degree of intrinsic social and ecological value. communities. ●● Overall low burial density compared to contemporary burial. ○○ Strong affiliations with community-based institutions, ●● Long-term covenants or deed restrictions to ensure conservation including those with conservation, education, scientific, values retained. religious or art-based missions. This affiliation could involve The main difference is generally size. Larger landscapes can host ownership or co-ownership by these institutions. a range of biological processes and social activities that smaller ○○ A high degree of public transparency. projects cannot. In a small space, creating a chapel, visitor center, Larger projects can include a more traditional visitors’ area/ceremonial artist-in-residence cabin and handicapp-accessible garden could easily center that may be more attractive to some potential clients. overpower any “natural” aesthetic; the need to create an endowment to keep such infrastructure long-term would be difficult without very dense burials. In general, these sites will be 100 acres or more.

Page 14 Funeral.EliteCME.com Common principles and practices of natural burial parks

Philosophy: Natural or green burial is regarded as a statement of memorial stones, no other memorial marker, monument, edging or personal values for those who seek to minimize their impact on the other stone, vase, ornament or any other structure is placed on, in or local and global environment. around any lot in a natural interment zone. The burial park will remove Site protection: Natural burial zones are a place where individual any memorial product, personal item, decoration or floral tributes that graves become part of the local natural landscape and contribute to do not comply with natural burial rules and regulations. the environmental sustainability of the larger, community ecosystem. Plantings and visitation: Approved plantings that are placed at Every natural burial interment zone at the burial park – and the natural individual natural interment sites coupled with the overall restoration setting and ecosystems of the land and the interment sites located and reforestation of a natural ecosystem are collectively intended therein – are protected in perpetuity and cannot at any future date be to become living memorials to the persons interred in burial park converted to a conventional interment zone. zones. As trees and plants mature and become established in these At-need assignment only: To manage and protect the restoration and zones, visitors will be discouraged from seeking out individual reforestation process of a natural ecosystem, individual lot assignment graves because this will have a negative impact on the ecosystem in the natural burial park is only made on an at-need basis. Purchasers of the natural grounds. Visitors will be encouraged to use specially of pre-need interment rights in a natural interment zone do not have a established memorial zones for reflection and remembrance. specific zone or specific lot assigned to them until the time of the at- Permanent and irreversible interment: Natural interments must be need requirement for a lot. regarded as permanent and irreversible because a disinterment would Direct earth burial: Natural burial is an interment practice where human be highly disruptive and damaging to the ecosystem of the area as remains are returned to the earth to decompose naturally and contribute to it matures. Natural disinterment would only be accommodated as new life. Human remains are prepared for burial without embalming and ordered under legislation, regulation or a court order. are buried in an approved and fully biodegradable casket or alternative Rules and regulations: There are restrictions and limitations on the container. No form of grave liner is used for natural burials. purchase and exercise of interment rights and on the form of approved Memorialization: The burial park has installed communal memorial memorials in the natural interment zones. Persons who select natural stones for the purpose of making approved memorial inscriptions interment are expected, without exception, to comply with the rules to commemorate natural interments. Other than the board-installed and regulations of natural interment zones specifically and the burial park generally.

Best practices for natural burial parks74

In order to help users (funeral directors, religious organizations, the ○○ What provision is made to ensure people with disabilities have public and all bereaved people) make an informed choice when selecting access to services. a type of funeral and burial ground, operators should provide clear ●● Bereavement services and accessible information. Visitors and grave owners should expect ○○ Information for bereaved people on how to deal, understand presentation and experience to be different from conventional cemeteries. and cope with their loss of a loved one. It is recommended that each burial ground should have clear published ●● Burial procedure information and policies on a number of issues. Below is a list of some ○○ Care of the deceased before burial and whether the person can common information the public will require to make a proper decision: be embalmed. ●● Description of the site (topography). ○○ Types of coffins to be used, i.e., biodegradable materials such ●● Location (including directions or a map on how to locate the as wood, cardboard, shrouds, wicker, bamboo and similar. cemetery and details of any public transport links). ○○ How family and friends can be involved in the funeral. ●● Site owner (including information on whether the site is freehold ●● Complaints procedure and handling or leasehold. If the latter, also state how long the lease runs). ○○ Operators should plan both to deal with complaints and to ●● Site operator (including contact details). learn from them. Complaints are most likely to arise from ●● Type of plots available (including plot options, cremation options disagreement with the burial authority’s policy, the level of and whether plots can be purchased in advance). fees or site maintenance regime or occasions when things ●● Burial rights (including time limits). go wrong, i.e., booking the wrong day for the funeral or ●● Pets (including where they can be buried and licenses required). allegations of rude or insensitive behavior by staff. ●● Gravedigging (including contact details, options for families). ○○ Operators should ensure that they provide users with readily ●● Embalming (including whether embalmed bodies are acceptable available information about how to complain, and that for burial, level and types of chemicals permitted). complaints procedures are not unduly bureaucratic. ●● Memorials (including types available, suppliers, term of years, ○○ Complaint handling is most effective if the complaint can be approved designs, tree planting schemes, memorial books, made locally and quickly, with the local manager empowered websites, benches). to deal, without delay, with the majority of the complaints that ●● On-site facilities (including car parking, shelter, rooms, chapels, can be anticipated. toilets, mortuary facilities, what is and is not provided). ○○ Complaint procedures should include provision for complaints ●● Funeral services (including options available). to be escalated, if necessary. For private cemeteries, the normal ●● Coffins (including types of materials allowed in their construction). route will be to the general manager and on to the operations ●● Details of the future of the site, its maintenance and management. manager or director. In addition, you may want to discuss: ○○ Local authority cemeteries are subject to their own authority’s ●● Access rights to the grave complaints procedures. ○○ The period of grave (rights) ownership and details on whether ●● Environmental policy the right can be transferred/extended in the future. Information on: ○○ The operator’s legal interest in the land and what long-term ○○ The environmental benefits anticipated for the scheme over a arrangements are in place for the future of the burial ground. period of no less than 100 years.

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 15 ○○ The current and future size of the site. ●● Memorials ○○ Where trees, shrubs or other plants are sourced and whether ○○ What can be placed on the grave by mourners, e.g. real or these are native. artificial flowers, plants from a prescribed list, personal items ○○ Use of herbicides, chemicals, fertilizers, baits and any other such as toys or mementos. substance that might affect the environment. ○○ Whether any form of individual grave memorial or marker is ○○ Land management, i.e., frequencies of mowing, replacement allowed, and if so, details on the position, size, inscription and of dead trees, when tree planting will take place, ultimate tree materials permitted, and ongoing maintenance arrangements. cover, pest controls, water features, protection of historic and ●● Pricing policy archaeological features such as veteran trees. ○○ Itemized price lists for the various services provided. ○○ Waste and litter disposal from the site and whether green waste ○○ Methods of payment accepted. is composted. ○○ Any administrative charges, such as for a change of mind. ○○ Support and/or advice of local wildlife trusts or other agencies ●● Records involved in conservation and the environment. ○○ What details are kept on file, why and for what period of time, ●● Exhumation and where such records are to be found. ○○ Operators should make clear whether they are prepared to ○○ What burial plans and records are held, the arrangements for allow remains, once buried, to be exhumed from their ground. public access to them, and any fees payable. ●● Management ●● Site maintenance ○○ Information on the burial ground management, directors, ○○ How the burial ground will be maintained and whether trustees, managing body or similar, with relevant qualifications this will affect memorials set up, access to graves and how given and membership of associations for natural burial the landscape character may change, for example, through grounds, the burial and cremation authorities or equivalent selective thinning of trees, which may affect a tree planted as organization. an individual’s memorial tree.

Beneficial or sustainable landscaping (aka greenscaping or natural landscaping)

The following sections review principles and strategies for beneficial ●● Use plantings to reduce heating/cooling need: Deciduous trees landscaping (also referred to as sustainable landscaping, greenscaping, planted appropriately along the south sides of buildings can reduce or natural landscaping), including: air conditioning costs by up to 20 percent; in winter, they allow ●● Protect existing natural areas to the greatest extent possible the sun’s rays to warm buildings. Coniferous trees planted to block (woodlands and wetlands, stream corridors and meadows). prevailing northwest winter winds can reduce heating costs. Trees ●● Select regionally native plants to form the backbone of the planted to shade paved areas reduce the summer heat-island effect landscape. Select appropriate plants for each particular site (each that makes parking lots so inhospitable. plant has its unique requirements, and most sites have a variety of ●● Avoid use of invasive exotics that compete with native plants and conditions). While there’s not usually a problem with occasional result in declines in biodiversity. Examples include Norway maples, use of exotic plants, native plants have evolved to local conditions kudzu, purple loosestrife, Japanese honeysuckle and multiflora rose. over millions of years and form an integral part in the life cycles of ●● Create additional wildlife habitat to partially compensate for the local wildlife; they also give an area its unique sense of place. land lost to urban/suburban sprawl. This is especially important ●● Reduce use of turf: Instead, install woodland, meadow or other along streams where the vegetation can filter runoff, aid in flood natural plantings. Where lawns are needed, follow best management control and provide wildlife corridors. practices available from your county’s cooperative extension agent Traditional landscaping and current landscape maintenance practices, to reduce harmful impacts, and use composting mowers. while frequently meeting human needs and aesthetics, often have ●● Reduce use of pesticides: Practice integrated pest management. harmful impacts. The clearing of native woodlands and other natural Again, cooperative extension agents can help with natural habitats for urban/suburban growth and subsequent planting of grounds alternatives to pesticide. with vast lawns and manicured arrangements of exotic ornamental plants ●● Compost and mulch on site to eliminate solid waste. Generate place a heavy toll on environmental and human health. This type of a a free mulch – a soil additive that can replace the need for most landscape requires extensive use of mechanical equipment, unnecessary fertilizers. consumption of our limited natural resources (water and fossil fuels), ●● Practice soil and water conservation: Stabilize slopes with natural frequent application of fertilizers and pesticides, and the generation of plantings, mulch around plants, and install drought- tolerant species. significant quantities of solid waste. As a result, our surface and ground ●● Reduce use of power landscape equipment: Shrinking the size waters are being polluted; destructive flooding is more commonplace; of the lawn and planting appropriate native species in less formal our neighborhood’s tranquility and air quality are compromised by noisy, arrangements will reduce the need for extensive use of power polluting landscape equipment; and our landfills are being consumed by equipment. yard waste. Furthermore, the biodiversity of our ecosystems is suffering from the introduction of invasive exotic landscape plants. Sustainable landscaping (greenscaping)75, 76

Sustainable landscaping is low impact, low maintenance, low resource ●● Implications of traditional landscaping: use and, frequently, low-cost landscaping that fits each particular site ○○ Air, noise, water pollution. and climate. The landscape is unique among the construction elements ○○ Flood damage/erosion. because it involves a living and therefore perishable finished product. ○○ Harm to biodiversity. As land itself becomes scarce and ever more precious, outdoor spaces ○○ Consumption of natural resources, including potable water for need to be designed to deliver value in as many ways as possible, i.e., non-potable needs. increasing land values, rewarding the senses, promoting environmental ○○ Impacts to public health and safety. quality and enhancing mobility. Sustainable landscapes incorporate ○○ Cost and labor intensive. and balance the human desire for beautiful and functional landscapes ○○ Monotonous landscapes. with the imperative to preserve valuable resources. ●● Benefits of sustainable landscaping:

Page 16 Funeral.EliteCME.com ○○ Reduces/ prevents pollution and waste disposal; reduces A sustainable landscape requires informed and thoughtful decision- environmental harm. making about every aspect of the development site: topography and ○○ Requires fewer inputs (e.g., fertilizers, pesticides) and layout, hardscape and lighting, vegetation and irrigation systems. conserves natural and financial resources. Sustainable landscaping should address issues on two key areas: (a) ○○ Maximizes ecological function and benefits wildlife. efficiency for the landowner, and (b) improved quality of the surrounding ○○ Requires less maintenance. community and environment. For a given issue, there is a design solution ○○ Looks attractive and provides seasonal interest. that can optimize conservation potential and sustainability. ○○ Creates a safer environments for families. ○○ Results in quieter neighborhoods (from reduced use of power Sustainable landscaping or greenscaping is a relatively new and equipment). innovative area. Too often, it is assumed that because a space is green, ○○ Conserves water, which benefits the homeowner and community. it is also sustainable. Expert and professional services by landscape ○○ Reduces flooding and costs for storm water management. architects who specialize in sustainable landscaping may be necessary to ○○ Provides greater opportunities to enjoy nature. ensure application of the foregoing principles in a cost-effective manner. ○○ Reduces landscape maintenance labor, which allows more At present, no standards (comparable to the USGBC LEED green free time. building rating system) exist for sustainable landscapes, even though ○○ Reduces landscape maintenance costs. they are one of the largest expense items and a major consumer of scarce ○○ Puts less strain on municipal waste collection and water treatment. resources. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is ○○ Leaves cleaner water bodies for fishing, swimming and drinking. working with other concerned agencies to develop such standards. ○○ Lowers heating and cooling bills. Trees providing shade and wind breaks can reduce building energy needs up to 30 percent for home heating [USDOE] and up to 50 percent for home cooling. ○○ Reduces noise (buffers).

Cost savings

Following the principles of greenscaping can be a great financial move There are also immediate cost savings you can recognize. By for your business. Green landscaping means buying fewer products composting instead of disposing of your yard waste, for instance, you and switching from the purchase of disposable ones to those that will save money on disposal costs. Compost adds disease-suppressing are long-lasting and reusable. Buying durable goods might be more properties to soils, reducing your need for pesticides. Even a move as expensive at the time of purchase, but over the life of your landscape, small as leaving grass clippings on your lawn after mowing can save maintenance, repurchasing and tipping costs will go down. These big bucks – lower disposal costs and, because decomposing grass savings can give your business an edge. pieces return valuable nutrients to the soil, lower fertilizer costs.

Waste reduction

Millions of tons of waste materials are hauled away, buried or burned each the greenscaping philosophies of reduce, reuse, recycle and rebuy can day from landscaping and grounds keeping operations – trees, shrubs, lower your tipping fees and other costs related to disposal. brush, lumber, asphalt and concrete, to name only a few. Millions of All of this waste also affects our environment. By reducing your gallons of excess water, pesticides, fuels and oils are in use each and every landscape’s consumption, you will be helping prevent greenhouse day. Why pay to dispose of this waste when you can avoid it? Following gases (GHG), save landfill space and preserve natural resources.

Water conservation

Most large-scale landscapes use an incredible amount of water to keep and more tolerant to your weather conditions. Planting native vegetation plants green and healthy. There are various greenscaping activities you will reward you with lower water, fertilizer and pesticide bills. can try to reduce your water use and keep your plants beautiful. Just There are also greenscaping methods to reduce runoff of storm water maintaining an efficient irrigation system and adjusting the time of day and irrigation water that carry top soils, fertilizers and pesticides into that you water can save money. local rivers and lakes. Drawing from storm retention ponds supplies A longer-term adjustment can be made by bringing native plants to your irrigation applications, as does installing rain barrels or cisterns to catch landscapes. Vegetation that is native to your area will be naturally hardier free rainwater on and around buildings. These options save water and money while reducing runoff, erosion and non-point source pollution.

Environmental impact

The huge amounts of waste generated, water used and energy polluting sources. And toxic pesticides and fertilizers abound in a consumed to maintain a large landscape have an incredible impact on typical large landscape, leading to the pollution of local rivers and our environment. Every piece of trash takes up room in a landfill, and lakes. Landscaping by the philosophies of greenscaping will help produces greenhouse gases not only as it decomposes, but during each you to minimize or avoid these environmental issues, lessening your step of its production and transportation. Energy is required to treat landscape’s impact on the earth. and transport water – energy that generally comes from nonrenewable,

Energy savings

Almost every material that you use on your landscape required energy to produce and ship soil additives, water, tools, machines, paints and to reach you. Large amounts of energy are used in acquiring materials, virtually every other material used in landscaping. By purchasing manufacturing products and shipping products to you. Energy is used fewer, more durable goods, you are saving an untold amount of energy.

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 17 Many green landscaping activities help reduce energy usage. Creating absorbs water, reducing the amount of irrigation necessary and the compost on site not only reduces the energy needed to transport energy required to transport the water. Strategic planting of vegetation organic waste to a landfill, but it eliminates the need for the production around buildings can reduce indoor heating and cooling needs by and transportation of fertilizers and often pesticides. Compost also creating shade.

Climate impact

Most materials used on landscapes have an impact on our climate. regularly adds GHGs to our atmosphere and impacts the climate. See Every product you use emits GHGs (greenhouse gases) as it is Climate Change and Waste at http://epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/ manufactured and transported, and will continue to produce GHGs in a waste/generalinfo.html for more information. landfill as it decomposes. The constant buying and trashing of products

Additional benefits

●● Reduced exposure of your customers, employees and yourself to health and appearance of your lawn and garden while protecting and potentially harmful chemicals, solvents, fuels and pesticides. preserving natural resources. By simply changing your landscape to ●● Increased beauty: a natural environment is aesthetically pleasing. a sustainable landscape, over time you can save time and money and ●● Improved public perception of your business. protect the environment. ●● Knowledge that you are making a difference by helping prevent ●● Save money by eliminating unnecessary water and chemical use. pollution, curb climate change and reduce your “environmental ●● Save time by landscaping with plants that require less care. footprint” on the earth. ●● Protect the environment by: Our yards are our outdoor homes: fun, beautiful, great spaces for ○○ Conserving water supplies. relaxing. By taking care of our lawns and gardens properly, we ○○ Using chemicals properly and only when necessary to keep can save money, time and help the environment. Greenscaping waterways and drinking water clean. encompasses a set of landscaping practices that can improve the ○○ Reducing yard waste by recycling yard trimmings into free fertilizer and mulch.

Put nature to work in your yard

In nature, soil recycles dead plants into nutrients for new plant growth. Start with these five steps: Plants are adapted to the water, sun and soil available in their site. 1. Build and maintain healthy soil. Maintaining a wide variety of healthy plants, soil organisms, beneficial 2. Plant right for your site. insects and animals can keep most pests and diseases in check. By 3. Practice smart watering. working with nature, you can have land that’s easier to care for, cheaper to 4. Adopt a holistic approach to pest management. maintain and healthier for families, pets, wildlife and the environment. 5. Practice natural lawn care.

Build and maintain healthy soil with compost and mulch

A teaspoonful of healthy soil contains about 4 billion organisms! This ●● Recycling nutrients and making them available to plants. community of beneficial soil creatures keeps our landscapes healthy by: ●● Storing water until plants need it. ●● Creating a loose soil structure that allows air, water and plant root ●● Protecting plants from some pests and diseases. growth into the soil.

Know what your soil needs

A soil test will tell you how much nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium Contact your local Cooperative Extension office athttp://www.csrees. and lime your soil needs to grow healthy plants. Depending on the usda.gov/Extension/index.html for a soil test kit. condition of the soil, you may not even need to apply these nutrients!

Feed your soil with compost

Dig or rototill one to three inches of compost into 6-12 inches of top Compost helps sandy soils hold nutrients and water, loosens clay soils soil when you’re making new beds or planting lawns. Top dress existing and feeds the beneficial soil life so it can feed and protect your plants. lawns with a quarter- to half-inch of compost every spring or fall.

Make compost at home, or buy it in bags or bulk

Yard and food waste are a gardener’s gold! Leaves, chopped stalks, climates, you will have finished compost in three to six months, when flowers and grass all make great compost in a pile or bin. Vegetable the waste becomes a dark, crumbly material that is uniform in texture. scraps and coffee grounds can also be added to your bin, but do not use You can then spread your compost in garden beds, under shrubs, on your meat, dairy or oils because they can attract pests. You should turn your lawn, or use it as potting soil. Learn how to create your own compost compost every few weeks with a pitchfork to distribute air and moisture. pile with these backyard composting instructions at http://www.epa.gov/ Make sure to sprinkle water on your pile in dry weather. In most epawaste/conserve/rrr/composting/by_compost.htm.

Page 18 Funeral.EliteCME.com Mulch

Mulch is a layer of organic material such as leaves, aged wood chips, ●● Trees, shrubs and woody perennials. Use two to three inches of compost or grass clippings that you spread in spring or fall around your woody mulches, like shredded tree bark or aged wood chips. plants. Never exceed more than three inches of mulch in your landscaping Shredded fall leaves also work well. Be sure to keep mulches an beds, and keep mulch about an inch away from stems and tree trunks. inch away from plant stems or trunks to prevent rot. Mulch stabilizes soil temperature, prevents weeds, feeds the soil for ●● Lawns. Mulch your lawn? Yes, you can “grasscycle” (leave the healthier plants and helps to conserve water. And it recycles itself! clippings on the lawn when mowing). The clippings quickly Mulch improves: decompose and release valuable nutrients back into the soil to feed ●● Flower beds and vegetable gardens. Use one to three inches of the grass, reducing the need for nitrogen by 25 to 50 percent. shredded leaves, compost or grass clippings that have not been treated with pesticides.

Need fertilizer? Go slow!

Most trees and shrubs get all the nutrients they need from the soil. But Improper use of fertilizers can damage beneficial soil life essential for annual plants, vegetable gardens and lawns sometimes need additional healthy soils and plants. Excess chemicals can also find their way into nutrients from a fertilizer. When shopping for fertilizer, look for a ground water, streams and lakes where they can contaminate drinking product that contains “natural organic” or “slow-release” ingredients. water and harm fish and other wildlife. Read and follow product labels Unlike “quick-release” fertilizers, natural organic or slow-release carefully before using fertilizer and other lawn chemicals, and make fertilizers feed your plants slowly and evenly. The result? Healthier sure you avoid application of these products to impervious surfaces to plants with strong root systems and no excessive top growth – saving avoid runoff. Remember, healthy plants grow in healthy soil. you time and money. Moreover, using slow-release fertilizers can reduce nutrient runoff into ground and surface waters.

Plant right for your site

Get to know your yard and decide how you want to use it. PH is a Pick plants that resist pests. Many garden centers and nurseries offer measure of soil acidity or alkalinity and directly affects the availability information about pest- and disease-resistant plant varieties. After of nutrients for your plants. Where is it sunny or shady? What is the they’re established, they’ll save you time and money on pest control. pH of your soil? What type of soil (e.g. sandy, clay) do you have in Give plants a good start. Prepare the soil by mixing one to three your yard? Look around – are there plants with problems? How much inches of compost into soil in planting beds. For trees and shrubs, lawn do you need or want to maintain? mix compost into the whole planting bed, or just plant in existing soil Choose the right plant for the right place. Select plants that grow well and mulch thoroughly. Set plants at the correct soil level, following in your area of the country and fit the amount of sun, type of soil and instructions provided with your plant. Mulch new plantings and be water available in your yard. (In general, it makes sense to use low- sure to water even drought-tolerant plants during their first few years, water plants to save yourself the time and expense of watering). Think especially in the summer and fall, until they build deep roots. about how big a tree or shrub will be when mature (especially next to your house or driveway and near power lines).

Make space for wildlife

You can invite birds, butterflies and other wildlife into your area, Make sure to follow organic gardening and lawn care practices, including: protect streams and fish and attract more wildlife: ●● Use organic fertilizers. ●● Consider planting native trees and plants, especially ones with ●● Practice natural pest control. berries, fruit and flowers. ●● Choose natural fungicides. ●● Plant in layers (ground cover, shrubs and trees) so your landscape ●● Use nontoxic weed killers. is like the forest. ●● Go native: Native plants tend to support 10 to 50 times the native ●● Don’t plant invasive species – check with your local Cooperative species that non-natives do, mostly in the form of insects, which Extension office. birds and animals feed on.77 ●● (http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html) for a list of ●● Plant in clumps: Research shows bees prefer flower gardens about invasive “noxious weeds.” 3 to 4 feet in diameter with large clumps of each type of flower.78 ●● Minimize potential harm to birds, beneficial insects and fish by ●● Skip the plastic mulch and don’t use other mulches too heavily. using pesticides only when necessary and using them properly. Most native bee species live in the ground. Bare, well-drained, Read the label and follow instructions carefully whenever you use sunny ground will provide a place for bees to nest. Some like a pesticide. south-facing slopes, while others like flat ground. ●● Provide a bird bath or other small water source. Make sure you ●● Make a “muddle.” A puddle of mud with a little sea salt or wood ash change the water every couple of days so your bird bath doesn’t mixed in provides bees with sodium and other necessary minerals. become a mosquito breeding ground. ●● Put rocks in an unshaded location to give amphibians a place to ●● Leave wild “buffer” areas of native plants along ravines, streams, sun themselves.79 shorelines and fencelines. ●● If your land abuts wetlands, take special precautions when choosing plantings. Invasives can take over, crowding out native plant species that wildlife depend on and even causing the wetlands to dry out, losing precious wildlife habitat.80

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 19 Practicing natural lawn care

How long to run the sprinkler?

●● Scatter clean, empty tuna cans or other straight-sided containers on ●● When most cans have one inch of water in them, turn off the your lawn. sprinkler and check how long it ran. ●● Turn on the sprinklers and check the time. ●● Now you know how long to run your sprinkler each week in summer if you want to keep your lawn green.

Mow higher, mow regularly and leave the clippings

Mow more frequently when grass is actively growing so that you are lawns healthier. Soil organisms recycle the clippings into free fertilizer, only cutting no more than one-third of the height of the grass. This and you save all the work of bagging. Modern mulching lawn mowers practice minimizes the amount of grass clippings. The desired height make grasscycling even easier, and homeowners can reduce their of grass varies depending on climate. “Grasscycling,” or leaving the mowing time by 30 to 40 percent by not having to bag clippings. clippings on the lawn, doesn’t cause thatch build up, but it does make

Use natural organic or slow-release fertilizers

Choose “natural organic” or “slow-release” fertilizers to reduce nutrient of streams and lakes. Use fertilizers sparingly. The more you fertilize, run-off and leaching. Keep fertilizers on the soil and out of the street! the faster the grass grows and the more frequently you have to mow! Fertilizers that run off are a waste of money and contribute to pollution

Water deeply, but infrequently, to moisten the whole root zone.

●● Grass grows best on level, well-drained soil in full sun or part shade. ○○ Leave or plant a “buffer” of dense native vegetation along ●● Consider alternatives to grass on steep slopes, shady areas or near streams and lakes to filter and slow run-off, shade and cool the streams and lakes. water, provide homes for wildlife and prevent bank erosion. ○○ In these areas, it takes a lot of extra work (and sometimes Let the soil dry between waterings to prevent lawn disease and save chemicals) to maintain grass. water. Lawns need only about one inch of water a week in summer, ○○ Look for other plants, such as ground covers, better suited to including rain, to stay green. Or you can let areas of lawn that don’t soggy soil, slopes or heavy shade. get heavy wear go brown and dormant; just water once a month and they’ll bounce back in the fall.

Overseeding can improve the quality of your lawn

●● Core aerate in the fall to improve root development and water ●● Then “top-dress” by raking in a quarter- to half-inch of compost to penetration. cover the seed and improve the soil. ●● Follow by overseeding thin areas of lawn with grass seed blends ●● Repeat these steps annually as needed to improve poor lawns. recommended for your area.

Composting

Learn how to create your own compost pile with these backyard composting instructions at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ composting/by_compost.htm.

Rebuying

Rebuying means rethinking your purchasing habits. Look for products and energy-efficient products, organic pesticides and fertilizers, manual that meet your needs but have a better environmental profile than your or electric yard equipment and solar landscape lighting. Rebuying is current product purchases. Consider biobased, recycled content, water key to sustaining recycling markets, and it aids in the development of efficiency, energy efficiency and other environmentally preferable technology that conserves resources and prevents waste. aspects in your purchasing decisions. A few examples include water-

Practice smart watering for healthier plants

Did you know that watering too much or too little is the cause of many first sign of wilting, but tougher perennials (plants that live several common plant problems? You can have healthier plants, save money years) need water only if they stay droopy after it cools off in the on water bills and conserve precious water resources by learning to evening. Trees and shrubs usually don’t need any watering once their give your lawn and garden just what they need, and no more. roots are fully established (two to five years), except in very dry years. Water deeply, but infrequently: Most plants do best if the soil is Make every drop count. Ways to lower water bills and get more allowed to partially dry out between waterings. A loss of shine or water to plants include: footprints remaining after you walk across the lawn indicates that it’s ●● Build your soil with compost and mulch to hold water and reduce time to water. Vegetables and other annuals should be watered at the evaporation.

Page 20 Funeral.EliteCME.com ●● Choose low-water-use plants. Once established, they can often ●● When soil is dry or compacted, it won’t absorb water quickly. If thrive just on rainfall. water puddles, stop watering a while and then restart so the water ●● Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation on beds – they can save 50 has time to soak in. percent or more compared with sprinklers. ●● Water in the early morning. If you water at mid-day, much of ●● Use an outdoor water timer (available at garden stores) to water the water just evaporates. Evening watering should be avoided just the right amount, frequency and time of day. because it can encourage the growth of mold or plant diseases. ●● Water lawns separately from other plantings. Make sure sprinklers ●● In a dry spell, you can allow an established lawn to go dormant. aren’t watering the pavement. Water just once a month, and brown areas of the lawn will bounce back in the fall.

Rain gardens

Rain gardens are landscaped areas design to soak up rainwater from muddies the water, which harms fish and other wildlife. You can help your roof, driveway and/or lawn. These gardens are designed to collect slow this runoff and help the soil hold the moisture plants need in rainwater runoff and filter and slowly release it into the ground. A summer. rain garden typically can retain 30 percent more rainwater than a ●● Direct downspouts out into lawns, rain gardens or “rain barrels.” conventional patch of lawn. By reducing the volume and velocity of ●● Use compost and mulch to reduce erosion and help rain soak in. storm water runoff, rain gardens help reduce soil erosion, filter fine ●● Use open pavers, gravel or other pavement options that let rain particulates and capture fertilizer and excess nutrients that can pollute seep into the soil. rivers and lakes. ●● Plant dense strips of native trees, shrubs and groundcovers next to Let the rain soak in: Rain rushes off roofs, pavement and compacted streams, lakes and ditches to stabilize the soil and to slow and filter soil. This causes flooding downstream, erodes stream banks and run-off.

What is integrated pest management (IPM)81

Thirty years ago, concern over widespread pesticide abuse and IPM objectives are to: the publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” launched the 1. Maintain and promote safe, efficient and environmentally sound environmental movement. Pesticides are still relatively unique as toxic strategies, preventing or controlling disease vectors and other pests contaminants in that they are intentionally put into the environment to that may adversely affect health, impede operations or damage accomplish their purpose. Therefore, all pest control programs have a property. special responsibility to be fully knowledgeable on the impact of these 2. Fully comply with all appropriate laws and regulations (i.e., chemicals and to prioritize the use of preventive, nontoxic or least Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), Title 29; Code toxic alternatives. IPM is the process by which this is accomplished. of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910.20, Access to Employee IPM is a decision-making process that considers cultural, mechanical, Exposure and Medical Records; 29 CFR 1910.132, Personal biological and chemical controls. Control mechanisms are selected as Protective Equipment; 29 CFR 1910.134, Respiratory each situation warrants. Where chemical control is indicated, instead Protection; 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard Communication; and the of a general pesticide application, specific pest populations are targeted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Insecticide, for treatment when they are most vulnerable. Through the use of Fungicide and Rodenticide Act) involving pesticide use and other appropriate control measures and proper application, IPM can result pest control procedures. in a reduction in the use of chemicals contained in pesticides that may 3. Incorporate IPM philosophy and strategies into all relevant aspects adversely impact human health and the environment. of building pest management planning, training and operations.

IPM versus traditional pest control

Modern pest control (IPM) can be defined as a coordination of several lasting solutions usually depend on coordinated management management functions to: initiatives to upgrade sanitation, housekeeping, repair and good ●● Identify specific sites of pest infestation. occupant operating practices. ●● Resolve these infestations with short-term controls. 3. Pesticides only when necessary vs. scheduled treatment. ●● Reduce or eliminate the causes of infestation with long-term Traditional pest control consists of routine pesticide application resolutions. whether pests are present or not. These chemicals are mistakenly All controls must include the safest and most cost-effective options thought of as protective disinfectants that can “keep the bugs away.” available. The critical components of an IPM program include IPM consists of routine inspection and monitoring, but in most cleaning, solid waste management, structural maintenance occupant cases relies on pesticides only when evidence indicates that pests education and finally, if necessary, appropriate pesticide application. are actually present and when non-chemical approaches have been IPM differs from traditional pest control in at least five ways: unsuccessful. This theme will be reinforced throughout this reference. 1. Proactive vs. reactive. Traditional pest control tends to ignore 4. Least toxic treatment vs. surface spraying or fogging. the reasons why a pest problem exists, but instead reacts to an Traditional pest control tends to apply pesticide to exposed areas infestation by temporarily treating the pest with chemicals. IPM far from where it’s needed and use far more of it than necessary. may also include an immediate corrective response that includes In fact, the “baseboard spraying” and room fogging that is still the use of pesticides, however IPM is mainly a preventive widely practiced by much of the pest control industry is not maintenance process that attempts to control pests by reducing very effective at killing cockroaches and other pests living deep their food, water, harborage (hiding places) and entry points. within furniture, equipment or structural elements. IPM applies 2. Management process vs. pest management. Traditional pest pesticides with precision and restraint. It emphasizes that only control relies on the exterminator to solve pest problems. IPM the safest compounds, formulations and methods of application recognizes that the exterminator often cannot do this, and that are appropriate. Insecticide bait is usually preferable to spray. When sprays are necessary, they are limited strictly to “crack and

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 21 crevice” applications. Space sprays or fogging are reserved for compressed air sprayer. IPM requires a much higher standard of extraordinary situations where no other solution is practical. In expertise. For an IPM program to be successful, it is essential that summary, non-chemical control alternatives are always considered management have informed technical guidance on all aspects of before pesticide use. the pest control effort. 5. Expertise vs. minimal training. Traditional pest control technicians are often required to do very little except operate a

IPM – Inspection and control

Purpose

●● The purpose of an IPM program is to forestall or prevent responsibilities and procedures necessary for a successful program. infestation and to control or eliminate existing infestation. In addition, a pest management information program should be ●● Preventive pest management is considered the most economical given to all personnel and it should identify responsible program and effective means of protecting workers, visitors and property. officials, including their titles, location and phone numbers. ●● An optimum program depends on the cooperation of all personnel. A facility memorandum on this subject should be issued stating

Natural pest control

Only about 5-15 percent of the bugs in your yard are pests. “Good watering or other easily corrected practices. That scary bug could bugs,” like the ground beetle and the green lacewing, help control pests. actually be a beneficial “good bug” that eats problem pests. Pesticides (including weed and bug killers) can be effective tools for Accept a little damage; give nature time to work. controlling pests such as insects, weeds and diseases. But be sure you Accept a few pests, as long as they are not harmful to the long-term need a pesticide before you use it. Ongoing pest problems are often effects of the landscape. Natural predators often bring pests under a sign that your lawn or garden is not getting what it needs to stay control, but they need time to work. Monitor your landscape to spot healthy. You need to correct the underlying problem to reduce the signs of pests, but don’t spray at the first sign of damage; nature may chance of pests reappearing. Remember, a holistic – or integrated pest control it for you or plants may outgrow the damage. management – approach is the most effective way to manage pests. If a pest or weed problem develops, use an integrated approach to Here’s how: solve the problem. ●● Start with prevention. Physical controls like traps, barriers, fabric row covers or plants that ○○ Maintain healthy soil with compost and mulch. repel pests can work for some pests. ○○ Select pest-resistant plants and put them in the sun/shade and ●● Use a little “elbow grease.” Long-handled weed pullers pop soil conditions they like. dandelions and other weeds out easily. ○○ Use a variety of plants so if pests attack, your whole garden ●● Mulching, not to exceed three inches, reduces weeds in garden beds. isn’t at risk. ●● Use “crop rotation” techniques by changing the planting location ○○ Mow higher. Most grasses should be mowed to a height of 2 for annuals to minimize their susceptibility to pests and disease. to 3 inches. Taller grass has more leaf surface and deeper roots and eventually chokes out many weeds. Replace problem plants with pest-resistant ones for a healthier, ○○ Clean out diseased plants so disease doesn’t spread. care-free yard. ○○ Pull weeds before they go to seed and spread. If a plant, even a tree, has insect, pest or disease problems every year, ○○ Remove dead plants to reduce hiding places for insect pests. consider replacing it with a more tolerant or resistant variety or another type of plant that doesn’t have these problems. Identify the problem before you spray, squash or stomp. Whether it’s a bug, disease or weed, you need to identify it to know Use pesticides responsibly. how to effectively manage it. The cause of ailing plants or grass may Carefully read and follow pesticide product label instructions. Avoid not be pests or disease but incorrect mowing or pruning, improper overuse of pesticides. When you have a small problem area, treat just that area, not the entire yard.

Greenscaping summary82

The economic and environmental cost of waste materials, water, landscaping methods. Reduce, reuse, recycle and rebuy (purchase new pesticides, fuels and oils from landscaping and grounds-keeping or used) to greenscape your property. operations can easily be reduced or eliminated with updated

Waste

Reduce ●● When replacing an existing hardscape or structure, deconstruct, ●● Select low maintenance/slow growing plants and grasses. reuse and recycle all possible materials such as metal, wood, ●● Reduce or eliminate plastic silt fencing and substitute with blankets, shingles, concrete and pavement. berms and filtersocks made of compost for erosion control. ●● Minimize turf grass and paved areas; keep as much natural area as ●● Switch from pressure-treated wood to plastic lumber for decks, possible. benches, and signs. ●● Cluster structures to maximize open space. ●● Return wooden pallets and other shipping materials to your ●● Minimize site and soil disruptions to the maximum extent possible. supplier whenever possible.

Page 22 Funeral.EliteCME.com Reuse Rebuy ●● Take apart non-returnable wood pallets to reuse the wood (i.e., ●● Select plastic lumber made from recycled bottles and bags for edging around plant beds) or chip it for use on site for mulch. benches and other outdoor structures. ●● Chip woody waste and tree clippings into mulch for use onsite. ●● Incorporate rubberized asphalt (made from recycled tires) for ●● Donate healthy plants to local nonprofit organizations when parking lots, walking, running, bike, or cart paths. reconfiguring or removing trees and shrubs from your landscape. ●● Purchase patio blocks and lawn edging containing recovered ●● Reuse or increase the use and efficiency of existing sites before plastic or post-consumer rubber. cutting into new sites. ●● Amend soils and turf with high quality compost. ●● Reuse soils within the work site; create mounds or berms to serve ●● Use recycled glass for sand, beach sand, or filter media. as windbreaks or to add visual interest. ●● Specify high performance concrete, which can contain fly ash Recycle and/or other recycled materials to double the life of conventional ●● Recycle bedding trays and plant containers from annuals and other pavement, wall, and bridge applications. greenery. ●● Restructure waste disposal contracts to pay only for waste actually ●● Triple rinse and recycle plastic commercial containers. disposed, weight-based versus fixed rate; if a weight-based rate is ●● Recycle used oil and tires from your vehicles and equipment. not possible and your dumpster is only half-full each time, switch ●● Provide recycling receptacles next to trash receptacles. to less frequent pickups. ●● Send green waste and food waste that cannot be composted on site ●● Install composting toilets in remote locations such as parks to save to a local composting facility. on waste disposal costs. ●● Reclaim land – turn waste land into usable property and a valuable asset.

Water

Reduce Reuse ●● Conserve water through xeriscaping. ●● Use gray-water, reclaimed water, or collected rainwater for ●● Incorporate compost into the soil to help improve water absorption irrigation and equipment wash downs. and retention. Recycle ●● Top-dress your turf with compost. ●● Recycle gray-water for irrigation and equipment wash downs. ●● Reduce non-permeable hardscape wherever possible. ●● Place mulch over a plant’s root zone to reduce moisture Rebuy evaporation and conserve water. ●● Buy hoses, tubing, trickle irrigation systems made from recovered ●● Install drip irrigation systems. plastic and old tires. ●● Install composting toilets in remote locations to reduce water and ●● Use biobased cleaners and solvents for equipment. servicing requirements. ●● Install a green vegetated roof to reduce or eliminate storm water ●● Clean equipment with compressed air whenever possible. Grass and “heat island” effect. clippings and debris should be collected and composted. ●● Purchase and incorporate plants that require minimal or no supplemental watering.

Energy

Reduce ●● Specify green building requirements for building structures. ●● Strategically plant vegetation outside and around buildings to ●● Plant trees to replace those removed or damaged during construction. reduce indoor heating and cooling needs. ●● Buy locally produced goods and services whenever possible to ●● Use hand or electric equipment wherever feasible to reduce emissions. reduce transportation emissions and costs. ●● Use biobased fuels and lubricants in place of petroleum. ●● Purchase or rent fuel efficient vehicles for your fleet. ●● Implement scheduled equipment maintenance program for ●● Use high efficiency lighting for roadways, parking lots, security increased efficiency and reduced emissions. and landscaping. Rebuy ●● Use solar powered lighting and signage wherever possible. ●● Purchase biodiesel and biobased lubricants for your equipment. ●● Utilize solar, wind and other renewable energy sources. Purchase ●● Compost makes an excellent air filter media for volatile organic “green power” from renewable energy sources if available. compounds (VOCs).

Fertilizers and pesticides

Reduce ●● Purchase only what you need and can use for a specific treatment. ●● Use compost as a soil amendment to help reduce the need for ●● Return unused excess product to supplier if possible (If you cannot chemical fertilizers or pesticides. return excess product, contact your local solid waste agency and your ●● Incorporate native plants in your landscape; they generally require state pesticide disposal program to determine whether a waste or less fertilizer and pesticides. pesticide program now commonly called “Clean Sweep” is available. ●● Implement an integrated pest management (IPM) program. These efforts by state and local governments typically focus on ●● Spot treat whenever possible. agricultural pesticides, but may also include other pesticides used by ●● Set mower blades higher to fight weeds and diseases without homeowners, golf courses and highway departments). pesticides. Rebuy ●● Grasscycle: Leave grass clippings in place (don’t bag) when mowing. ●● Purchase organic, biobased or slow-release fertilizers. ●● Produce less green waste by limiting fertilizer and water use. ●● Use biopesticides instead of conventional pesticides (See Pest ●● Use mulch around trees and in flowering beds as weed prevention. control – integrated pest management).

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 23 Sustainable landscaping (greenscaping) – Principles and strategies:

●● Use naturalistic design. ○○ Coniferous trees planted to block prevailing northwest winter ●● When planning a landscape, avoid products that require frequent winds can reduce heating costs. replacement or regular maintenance (to reduce future waste). ○○ Use plants to capture airborne pollutants. ●● Choosing indigenous plants over exotic varieties can help reduce ●● Encourage storm water retention, design slopes and surfaces to the need for irrigation and environmentally harmful pesticides reduce runoff, replenish groundwater and use plants to capture and fertilizers; they also hold soil and water. Invasive, non-native water-borne pollutants. plants can harm the local ecology. ●● Design plantings and irrigation for efficient water use. ●● Use the right plant in the right place. ●● Plant low-water ground covers or drought-tolerant grass and use ●● Perform a soil/climate analysis to determine appropriate landscape absorbent soil mixtures to promote storm water infiltration and types. reduce additional costs related to managing storm water. ●● Plant for the long term by selecting healthy and long-lived plant ●● Design so that site work lessens soil compaction and precludes varieties. unnecessary soil compaction while construction is ongoing. ●● Strive for diversity, and biomass by establishing and protecting areas ●● Reduce energy use by designing sites that do not require energy- of biological richness through use of endemic species/native plants. intensive maintenance to remain healthy and attractive, and by ●● Use landscaping to conserve energy and prevent air pollution. minimizing shipping distances for materials and supplies. ○○ Use deciduous trees to provide shade in the summer and ●● Maximize ecological value by enhancing ecological functions and permit warming sunlight in the winter. services.

Sustainable landscaping maintenance

●● Integrated pest management: (also known as drip, trickle or dribble irrigation) is a method of ○○ Monitor and assess. irrigation in which water is applied directly to the root zone of ○○ Cultural controls first. the plant in small but frequent quantities in a way that maintains ○○ Least toxic chemicals. the most active part of the soil at a quasi-optimum moisture. ○○ Follow label directions carefully. During watering, micro-irrigation delivers 85 to 90 percent of the ○○ Spot treat rather than broadcast. moisture supply to plants, compared with just 40 to 50 percent ●● Careful application of nutrients: delivery for typical broadcast sprinklers. ○○ Test soil to determine appropriate fertilizer. ○○ Water early in the day. ○○ Use organics and slow-release. ●● Energy conservation, where feasible: ○○ Apply sparingly and at correct time, according to directions. ○○ Use hand tools rather than power tools. ○○ Little to none needed for natives. ○○ Electric rather than gas tools. ●● Water conservation: ○○ 4-stroke engines rather than 2-stroke. ○○ Use mulch, native and drought-tolerant plants. ○○ Keep power tools well-tuned. ○○ Water plants and grass with rainwater from an on-site cistern ○○ Consider indirect impacts: to limit the use of potable water; consider using storm water, ●● Composting / mulching. gray-water condensate water for irrigation. ●● Focus on the “4 Rs” when acquiring materials and supplies: ○○ Choose a micro-irrigation system, instead of traditional sprinklers reduce, reuse, recycle, re-buy (e.g., re-think conventional products to deliver water to your grounds more efficiently. Micro-irrigation and look for those that are environmentally preferable).

Bibliography

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Endnotes

1. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2010-02-03-green-cemeteries_N.htm United States vessels or aircraft may be buried at sea under specified conditions. See: 2. http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/consume/funeral_survey.pdf 40 CFR 229.1 at http://www.epa.gov/Region4/water/oceans/documents/burialcode.pdf 3. Cremation Association of North America(CANA) http://www.cremationassociation. 35. http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/qcert.asp org/Media/CremationStatistics/tabid/95/Default.aspx 36. http://www.cfsaa.org/about.php 4. Low Impact Living - Fade to Green: Eco-friendly Burial Options http://www. 37. Kaufman, Martin, “Dust to Dust? Green Burial in Great Britain” E/The lowimpactliving.com/blog/2008/05/19/eco-friendly-burial-options/ Environmental Magazine 5. Casket & Funeral Supply Association of America - About the Casket Industry: http:// 38. http://www.cfsaa.org/design.php www.cfsaa.org/about.php] 39. http://www.epa.gov/hardrockmining/pg.htm 6. http://www.naturalburial.coop/2008/03/31/its-not-easy-dying-green/; http://www. 40. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA cfsaa.org/about.php 41. http://www.recycle-steel.org/ 7. http://www.greenburialcouncil.org/faqs-fiction/ 42. http://www.naturalburial.coop/2008/03/31/its-not-easy-dying-green/ 8. http://www.naturalburial.coop/2008/03/31/its-not-easy-dying-green/ ; http://www. 43. http://www.greenyour.com/home/lawn-garden/flowers/tips/choose-organic-and-fair- greenburialcouncil.org/faqs-fiction/ trade-flowers 9. http://www.monumentbuilders.org/consumers_how_monuments_are_made.php 44. http://www.organicconsumers.org/organic/flowers020204.cfm 10. Green Burial Council (GBC- approved providers) www.greenburialcouncil.org 45. Guilt Free Valentines: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1156593,00. 11. Harris, Mark (2007) Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry html to a Natural Way of Burial, Scribner, New York, NY, page 38. 46. Unhealthy Flowers: http://www.alternet.org/environment/47847?page=entire 12. http://www.epa.gov/hardrockmining/pg.htm 47. http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/holidays/rose-is-a-rose 13. http://www.naturalburial.coop/2008/03/31/its-not-easy-dying-green/ 48. http://www.strauscom.com/rodale-whitepaper/ 14. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/the_last_act_gr.php 49. http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/ob_31 15. Summary of the Data at http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Meetings/88-formaldehyde. 50. http://www.bbc.co.uk/relationships/coping_with_grief/practicalissues_ pdf or see International Agency for Research on Cancer http://www.iarc.fr/ cremationburial.shtml 16. National Cancer Institute http://www.cancer.gov/ 51. http://www.cremationassociation.org/Media/CremationStatistics/tabid/95/Default.aspx 17. http://www.farmland.org/programs/protection/default.asp 52. http://www.naturalburial.coop/2008/03/31/its-not-easy-dying-green/ 18. http://docs.nrdc.org/globalWarming/ 53. Harris, Mark (2007) Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry 19. Harris, Mark (2007) Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial, Scribner, New York, NY. to a Natural Way of Burial, Scribner, New York, NY, page 56. 54. http://www.nfda.org/planning-a-funeral/cremation/160.html#what 20. http://www.ilpi.com/msds/ref/carbondioxide.html 55. http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2008/05/19/eco-friendly-burial-options/ 21. http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol62/mono62-7B.pdf 56. Natural Life Magazine - Natural Burial: The Ultimate Recycling March/April 2008 22. Such “eco-balming” products are described as “safe, effective, nontoxic, Page 13 http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/backissues/; U.S. Environmental nonhazardous alternatives to toxic and archaic formaldehyde-style embalming and Protection Agency - Emission Facts: Average Carbon Dioxide Emissions Resulting post-mortem practices,” according to James Bedino, Chemist/Director of Research from Gasoline and Diesel Fuel http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/420f05001. at The Champion Company who offers The Champion Guide to Green Embalming htm#calculating; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Emission Facts: Practices and Postmortem Preparation of Bodies for Natural/Green Burial and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle http://www.epa.gov/ Ecocremation/Disposition (affiliated withENIGMA Ecobalming). otaq/climate/420f05004.htm#step2 23. The NFDA has funded a number of important studies investigating environmental 57. http://www.naturalburial.coop/about-natural-burial/incineration-cremation/ repercussions of the chemicals commonly used by funeral homes. These include: 58. Mercury removal prior to cremation: a collaboration of dentistry and mortuary science “The Funeral Home Wastestream Audit (examining sewer dischargers), in 1995, and to prevent environmental contamination. Paige Christiansen and Mickensi Larson, “Investigation of the Removal of Formaldehyde and Phenol by Funeral Home Septic Dec 1, 2009 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Mercury+removal+prior+to+cremation:+ Systems (2003, for septic users). a+collaboration+ of+dentistry+and...-a0216339047 24. http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/reports/endofyear/ 59. See: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/about.htm. Accessed August 3, 2009.; How eoy2007/2007cahighlights.html mercury enters the environment. Available at http://www.epa.gov/mercury/exposure. 25. http://www.care2.com/channels/ecoinfo/hybrid htm. Accessed Oct. 7, 2009.; (3.) American Dental Association. ADA Council on 26. http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/idling.html Scientific Affairs statement on dental amalgam. Available at http://www.ada.org/ 27. http://climate.dot.gov/about/transportations-role/overview.html prof/resources/positions/ statements/amalgam.asp. August 2009; (4.) Food and Drug 28. http://www.edf.org/documents/5301_Globalwarmingontheroad.pdf Administration. FDA issues final regulation on dental amalgam. Available at http:// 29. http://www.greenyour.com/transportation/travel/vacation/tips/hire-a-green-limo-or- www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/ PressAnnouncements/ucm173992.htm. car-service#footnote5 Accessed Jul. 28, 2009. 30. Harris, Mark (2007) Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry 60. Minnesota Senate. S.F. No. 3884. Available at https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/ to a Natural Way of Burial, Scribner, New York, NY bldbill.php? bill=S3884.0.html&session=ls85. May 2008 31. http://www.backyardburial.net/funeral.html 61. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Mercury-free Colorado 32. http://www.evrmemories.com/bury-loved-one-at-home-s/215.htm campaign. Available at http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/mercury/index.htm. Accessed 33. http://www.backyardburial.com/legal.html Apr. 2009. 34. Title 40: Protection of Environment; Part 229 – General Permits states the following: 62. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/oct/18/ethicalmoney.climatechange According to federal regulations based on the Marine Protection, Research and 63. Minnesota Department of Health. Deaths and cremations by year. Mortuary Science Sanctuary Act of 1972, human remains transported from United States ports or on Program. 2006; 1-9

Funeral.EliteCME.com Page 25 64. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Locating and Estimating Air Emissions 74. Natural burial grounds - guidance for operators (PDF 0.28mb 24 pages) from Sources of Mercury and Mercury Compounds, Section 8-4 http://www.epa.gov/ 75. http://www.state.nj.us/dep/opsc/docs/Sustainable_Landscape.pdf Marty Rosen ttnchie1/le/mercury.pdf September 2007 For more information see Rutgers NJ Agricultural Experiment 65. http://www.ada.org/prof/advocacy/issues/amalgam_testimony_071114_mackert.pdf Station Cooperative Extension - http://njaes.rutgers.edu/garden/ and office of planning 66. American Dental Hygienists’ Association. Dental characteristics of the older adult. and sustainable communitieswww.nj.gov/dep/opsc/ Available at http://www.adha.org/CE_courses/course11/ characteristics.htm. Accessed 76. http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/greenscapes/benefits.htm Apr. 2009 77. Moffat, Ann Simon and Schiler, Marc (1993) Energy-Efficient and Environmental 67. http://www.cremationassociation.org/Media/CremationStatistics/tabid/95/Default.aspx Landscaping South Newfane, Vermont: Appropriate Solutions Press: 113-121 68. Harris, Mark (2007) Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry 78. Harrar, Sari, “Special Report: The Bee Crisis” Organic Gardening Vol. 55, no. 1 to a Natural Way of Burial, Scribner, New York, NY (November/December/January 2008): 52-55 69. http://www.greenyour.com/lifestyle/events/funeral/tips/choose-cremation http://www. 79. http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Create-a- epa.gov/ttnchie1/le/mercury.pdf Habitat.aspx?CFID=26861898&CFTOKEN=8fa2a01eba8fa17b-7D6185B7-5056- 70. http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1529/ . A868-A09289E3410C0705 71. More information can be found at http://www.resomation.com/index.htm and http:// 80. Dobson, Clive and Beck, Gregor Gilpin (199) Watersheds: A Practical Handbook for www.fbca.org.uk/defra-oct06.asp. Healthy Water. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, Inc.: 100 72. http://www.canada.com/life/Green+burials+slow+catch/1478428/story.html 81. http://www1.va.gov/VHAPUBLICATIONS/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1093 73. Burial grounds http://www.greenburialcouncil.org/what-we-do/standards-setting/ 82. http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/greenscapes/pubs/tipsheet.pdf burial-grounds/ Green Funerals Final Examination Questions Select the best answer for each question and mark your answers online at Funeral.EliteCME.com.

1. One of the primary principles of green funerals and burial is 9. Most states allow families to establish domestic burial sites maximizing resource use and waste. on their own property, but may designate certain requirements ¨¨ True regarding the location, such as distance from bodies of water, neighboring land, utility poles, etc., or how much soil must cover ¨ ¨ False the body. ¨ 2. More than 90,000 tons of steel are used to make more than ¨ True 800,000 steel caskets each year. ¨¨ False ¨¨ True 10. Burials in inland waters, such as lakes or rivers, are regulated by ¨ ¨ False the United States Navy Burial at Sea Program. ¨ 3. According to the Green Burial Council, Category 2 products ¨ True must contain only chemical ingredients that are fully disclosed ¨¨ False on a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and cannot contain any chemical ingredient described as a “trade secret.” 11. In the U.S., cremation is chosen by approximately 50% of the ¨¨ True population and is expected to decrease by 2025. ¨ ¨¨ False ¨ True ¨¨ False 4. State laws require that caskets are buried inside vaults. ¨¨ True 12. In choosing or recommending a crematory, take the time to ensure that the identifying documentation is checked and confirmed ¨ ¨ False before the processing begins. ¨ 5. Embalming is required by law. ¨ True ¨ ¨¨ True ¨ False ¨ ¨ False 13. The Green Burial Council certifies three categories of cemeteries. ¨ 6. Natural funeral services may include the use of essential oils to ¨ True control bacterial activity and herbs to scent the body. ¨¨ False ¨¨ True 14. A Conservation Burial Ground must develop a plan for using ¨ ¨ False native plants and for protecting or rescuing locally rare plants. ¨ 7. Trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) are highly ¨ True toxic potential human carcinogens that persist in the environment ¨¨ False for many years. ¨¨ True 15. Conservation Burial Grounds are cemeteries that accommodate both traditional burial practices and green burial without vaults. ¨¨ False ¨¨ True 8. Large Capacity Cesspools (LCP’s) were banned by the ¨¨ False Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2010. ¨¨ True FAL05GFE16 ¨¨ False

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