Burial, Cremation, or Compost? Which will it be for you?

[+ pitman]

I have for a long time expressed my wish to be cremated when my time comes, but once I became aware of the environmental costs incurred, composting seems like a much more sustainable option.

The funeral industry still has tremendous influence and will try to keep people locked into the traditional (and more expensive) options for as long as possible.  Green burials are now legal in Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, and Vermont.  Hopefully they will soon be available and used in many more places.

https://48hills.org/2023/01/after-death-returning-your-body-to-the-earth/

[+ jeezopete]

I mentioned in another thread a while back that I'm looking into a green burial in one of the nature preserves here in Florida. They give the option of body burial in some kind of cloth covering or burial of ashes after cremation.

Just checked one of the sites I'd been looking at and it says:

At Heartwood Preserve, the deceased is not embalmed; vaults are not used and the deceased is buried either in a biodegradable casket or wrapped in a shroud (a large cloth used to wrap the body for burial). Cremated remains are also buried in a biodegradable container. The burial is performed directly into the ground, with the remains covered and mounded over with the same soil that was removed. The site is then reseeded with the surrounding natural vegetation. The grave is marked simply with a small metal plaque and its location permanently recorded. Over time, the grave site becomes a part of the natural environment. Families may visit the site as frequently as they like, and may memorialize their loved one in a number of ecologically friendly ways.

[+ sync]

Does this bring "Soylent Green" to mind for anyone else?

[Guest]

Well, I've considered the Zoroastrian religion to be perhaps the most intelligent, so maybe it'll be the Tower of Silence for me:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Silence

But, seriously, I prefer to be buried. Gotta leave something behind!

[+ The Big Guy]

I prefer to be cremated

[+ Charlie]

Mummified and placed in an attractive sarcophagus.

[Jamie21]

Bury me in a Y shaped coffin. 

[jeezifonly]

Personally I’m looking forward to cremation. 

[+ Lucky]

31 minutes ago, Jamie21 said:

Bury me in a Y shaped coffin. 

Are you ready?

[Jamie21]

😂. Not dead yet. 

[mike carey]

2 hours ago, Jamie21 said:

😂. Not dead yet. 

*Mary Queen of Scots*

(A rather obscure reference.)

[+ Topseed]

Cremation, via the Neptune Society.

 

[+ Autumnal]

Definitely want to be composted. After I die, the sooner I can re-enter the ecosphere the better.

[dbar123]

Cremated. My kids have been instructed to sprinkle my ashes on a restricted private beach that I’m not allowed to use.

[CalTec]

Anyone going with this option? https://algordanza.ca/

[Rudynate]

There is a new process that they are starting to use in Europe - alkaline hydrolysis, that uses a strong lye solution.   It is being used in the US for pets.   We had to have one of our cats put down a year ago, and that was the process they used to dispose of his remains.  Two days later, they gave us a little wooden box containing a little bit of fine white powder.  I'm wondering how they dispose of the lye solution. 

[+ sf westcoaster]

Cremation- ashes in an urn and placed in a niche at the cemetery.

[keefer]

we discussed burial/cremation options while updating our wills last year...   I told my husband I was still thinking about where he should scatter my ashes and asked if he had any preferences... without missing a beat he replied "... Hampstead Heath...  if there is an afterlife I want it to be fun..."     for those who don't know, quite a notorious gay cruising ground since, well, forever... 

unfortunately if that's an option for the afterlife I'm doomed - as all the venues from my youth are now closed...

 

[+ DrownedBoy]

Cremation followed by burial of ashes next to my ancestors.

My family has funeral plots, where it's traditional to be buried next to others in the family. Since I'll be dead and won't care either way, I made my mother happy by agreeing to that and making the necessary arrangements.

I think it's just creepy as hell to be embalmed, then have people standing over your waxed-over body (especially when it doesn't look like them). Luckily, my parents' generation already made that switch (and lots more family members can fit now 😄 ).

(Originally I wanted to just donate my body to science. It's a pain to do that and get into a specific burial plot, even when it's an option)

[+ bashful]

Cremation.  Ashes in the Pacific off west coast of Maui.

[CuriousByNature]

Cremation, with my ashes sealed in a buoyant container and tossed into the ocean.  Likely my only chance of doing a round-the-world cruise. 

 

[+ Pensant]

Cremation. Cheapest box available and then buried in the family cemetery among generations of descendants. My sister and I are buying austere memorial stones with only our first and middle names and year born and year died since our last names are well known and the enclosure for my great-grandfather’s same simple stone has our family name on it. 

[misterhumphries]

Cremation. Since I'm not a vampire, I won't need the body once I'm done living this life in it.

[mike carey]

11 hours ago, Pensant said:

Cheapest box available and then buried in the family cemetery among generations of descendants.

I admire your determination to live for so long!