What We Stand For

The Green Burial Council receives calls almost daily for information regarding funerary processes and products that are not directly related to green burial. Our work is primarily concerned with ensuring integrity of those businesses and nonprofits who are providing green burial, products, and services. This is where we stand on other disposition options:

• We believe that natural burial, the time-tested method of disposing of bodies respectfully and safely, is the most efficient way;
• We support scientifically proven products and processes that complement or supplement the natural decomposition process, and further environmental sustainability and cultural connection;
  
• We do not offer certification that falls outside our current categories so we are unable to officially endorse any of these processes or products, but;
  
• We do want to provide information about them to help the public make their own informed decisions.

Natural Organic Reduction

NOR above-ground facility artist rendering, photo courtesy of Recompose.com

Walt Patrick of Herland Forest takes a break in the cradle of his above-ground composting system

Natural Organic Reduction, or human composting, relies on natural processes that assist the body in decomposing aerobically and efficiently. The above-ground process requires state approval. To date [September 2023], seven states have made NOR legal, including WA, OR, CA, CO, NV, VT, NY (in 2027). It is available in two.

The state of Washington passed legislation to change the definition of cremation in the spring of 2019 to legalize the process, based on research conducted by Recompose innovator Katrina Spade with several research teams, including Dr. Lynn Carpenter Boggs, Professor of Sustainable and Organic Agriculture at Washington State University. Also in Washington State, Walt Patrick of Herland Forest Burial Ground has been engineering an above-ground composting system called Natural Organic Reduction. For more about the project, read Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, OR in Washington You Could Now Be Compost by Adeel Hassan, New York Times, 5.22.19.

Concerns have been raised by the conservation community regarding the carbon footprint of materials, storage and processing costs, and the disposal of roughly one cubic yard per person (1,685 lbs. or 3/4 of a ton), of what has the consistency and makeup of mulch. Read this white paper Taking a Closer Look at Carbon Footprints by Dr. Billy Campbell and Lee Webster to learn more about the environmental cost of NOR and compare its carbon footprint and cost to other disposition options.

Cremation

With rising cremation rates across the country, there appears to be a misconception that it is an environmentally friendly option. Cremation uses far fewer resources than conventional burial in a lawn cemetery with a vault, but it certainly has an environmental impact. Cremation burns fossil fuels, and some older cremation facilities can use significantly more energy compared to newer ones. Mercury is also emitted when a person with dental amalgam fillings is cremated, along with other metals, but filtration devices that can fully mitigate mercury pollution have not been invented yet. Because of the density and nonbiodegradable content of cremated remains, some green burial cemeteries do not allow scattering. Cremated remains consist of calcium phosphate and sodium and are heavy, apt to smother foliage on the surface. Underground cremated remains create what is essentially a nutrient-deficient salt lick that has no environmental benefits and can cause girdling of trees and destruction of microbial communities. Above ground, it can produce phosphorus runoff that creates algae bloom in waterways, killing fish and plants. While cremation is not an environmentally positive option, there are several things that can be done to attempt to offset the carbon footprint of cremation, such as recycling medical parts, making a contribution to a carbon fund, or supporting ocean reef regrowth. To learn more about cremation and alkaline hydrolysis, read Environmental Impact and Potential Human Health Effects of Cremation

Cremated remains supplement

​Supplemental Enzymes Cremated remains contain extremely high pH (estimated 200x — 2000x too sweet) and sodium levels that are far too high for most plants. In order to completely break down the calcium phosphate and sodium that is the pulverized residue left after flame cremation, something must be incorporated into them to correct imbalances and nourish plant life. This organic mixture, developed by former funeral director Bob Jenkins and his research team of forensic anthropologists, taphonomists, and entomologists, biologists, and other scientists over several years, has been scientifically proven to foster healthy plant life by lowering the pH and diluting the sodium in testing by independent labs. Verde Products, Inc., sells various Let Your Love Grow products to industry agents and the public in the US and internationally. Read their article Why Burying Ashes is Harmful to the Environment/Let Your Love Grow for more information.

A newly dropped reef ball with fresh marine life growing

Adding Cremated Remains to Concrete Reefs allows families to honor their loved one's memory by contributing to the artificial development and restoration of corral reefs along seaboards that have been damaged, establishing new habitat for fish and other sea life. According to their website, reef balls have been used in more than 70 countries, on more than 4,000 projects for a wide variety of purposes. There are  more than 700,000 reef balls in the oceans around the world. Cremated remains are added to a specially formulated concrete slurry during casting, and family members can actively participate during creation of the reef balls and be present for the lowering into the sea. For more information, go to Eternal Reefs Fast Facts.

Scattering is legal and free in many natural locations with landowner permission

Scattering Cremated Remains Near and Under Memorial Forests is possible nearly anywhere with landowner permission at no cost, or in a natural cemetery, usually for a small fee. Now some companies are charging large amounts of money to scatter in forests or under trees, purporting to further conservation of precious land. Unfortunately, many are claiming that scattering cremated remains over, under, or around vegetation is environmentally beneficial, and promising that the fees charged will promote the protection of land. But to meet the conservation imperative, these properties must be protected in perpetuity, either as licensed cemeteries or held by a conservation easement, or both, and many are not. The greater conservation community is concerned that the public understand the right relationship between conservation land trusts and best burial practices—and the State has something to say about where bodies may be legally buried, including cremated remains. Go to the Conservation Burial Alliance for infographics explaining the effects of cremation and explaining the difference between memorial forests and conservation burial. And read the white paper that explains the ramifications for land trusts, local officials, and townspeople in What You Need to Know About Memorial Forests by Lee Webster.

Alkaline Hydrolysis

Resomation container, based on the original 1888 patent for alkaline hydrolysis filed by inventor Amos Herbert

This process, also known as resomation, wet cremation, or bio cremation, uses 350° water temperatures, pressure, and a 5% potassium hydroxide alkali solution (lye) for 2-3 hours to essentially liquify soft tissue, leaving bones for pulverization similar to flame cremation, and burning an estimated 80% less energy. Its developers claim that it emits zero greenhouse gases, and that the mercury from amalgam fillings is captured and recycled. AH is currently legal in 29 states [as of September 2023], including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming, but available in 19. The Catholic Church is resistant to the process on religious doctrine grounds, and legislation in several states has been defeated through effective lobbying by the casket industry.

Promession

Artist rendering of cryogenic freezing

The concept of freeze-drying a body with nitrogen to be vibrated and scattered is reportedly not supported as physically possible by scientists. The Swedish company Promessa was liquidated in 2015 due to an inability to build a functioning facility or prove viability.

The Mushroom Suit

Performance art illustrating the Mushroom Suit

The Mushroom Suit is a burial garment inoculated with mycelium intended to neutralize toxins in the body, potentially speeding up the natural process of body decomposition and enhancing the available nutrient output. However, there are concerns in the conservation community regarding necessity, viability, and scientific support of the theory it is based on that is also not in concert with the GBC's commitment to natural, unfettered, and unimpeded decomposition. To create an informed opinion about this former art project, we suggest viewing and reading the following: My Mushroom Burial Suit with Jae Rhim Lee, Why Mushroom Suits Won't Work by Dr. Billy Campbell, Eco-Friendly Mushrooms Are on the Rise by Tim and Sarah Crews. You can see an excellent summation in "Mushroom Burial Suit" Called Into Question by Diane Ionescu. Update: A failed field study resulted in the mushroom going out of production.

Capsula Mundi

Italian company Capsula Mundi examples of aged "eggs"

The egg-shaped urn for cremated remains is made of what has been described as "biodegradable plastic", and is meant to be interred in the ground and have a tree of your own choosing planted over it. Given what we know about the biodegradability and nutrient harvest capability of cremated remains, the chances that a tree will grown to maturity proximate to the capsule is unproven. According to the Capsula Mundi website, "Ashes will be held in small egg-shaped bio urns while bodies will be laid down in a fetal position in larger pods." The urn is for sale on the website; however, there does not appear to be a product available for full body burial at this time.