It is a difficult topic to discuss openly as many people are nervous talking about death but just as sure as taxes are due every April, the end is also sure to come and there is nothing wrong with trying to make environmentally responsible choices while planning in advance.  There are quite a few Earth-sound options for what to do with our bodies after life and just two such options are being buried in an naturally biodegradable casket, or turning our ashes into under water reefs.

Being embalmed did not begin to fall into fashion in the United States until the time of the Civil War when soldiers who had died in battle desired to be transported closer to home for burial.  In 1867 formaldehyde, a popular preservative chemical utilized by many Embalmers, was added to the mix and today’s standards for burial were achieved.  When a body is placed in the ground it is also traditionally encased inside a casket; most of the popular styles are created from stainless steel or varnished mahogany.  The Greener option would be to utilize the Ecopod casket, buried in a Green cemetery.  The Ecopod is created from recycled paper, is a smaller and sleeker profile than a standard casket so less Earth will be disrupted for insertion and as the body is not filled with formaldehyde it will decompose naturally, giving back to the Earth.

Another way to give back is by becoming part of the world under the sea by turning our cremated ashes into a reef where marine life can flourish.  Upon cremation, ashes are mixed into a liquid concrete mixture which is subsequently poured into a cast and hardened.  Once the mold is fully cured and hardened the cast is placed on the ocean floor to accommodate plant growth and encourage construction of marine life habitats.  It appears as if there is currently only one company completing this service, Eternal Reefsbased out of one of their two Saratoga, Florida locations (also where casting occurs) and as of now reef projects are planned for seven locations up and down the east coast of the United States; traveling as far north as New Jersey.  All of the locations are in planned recreation sites, in permitted reef development areas. 

Both of these options go to show that environmentally friendly burial solutions give back to the planet in safe, responsible and meaningful ways.