Being green doesn’t end when your life does. From ‘recycling’ your organs to burial in a space-saving seated coffin, there are plenty of environmentally sound options.
‘From cradle to grave’ is a metaphor Greens like to use for the impact of a manufactured product, from the energy and resources that go into making it to what kind of waste it eventually becomes.
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It's a an even apter metaphor for the impact of a life, from what kind of nappies you use right up until you dispose of your final waste product: your corpse.
So how green are the different options?
Burial: our overcrowded cemeteries
Burial, in South Africa as in most countries, remains the most popular end-of-life choice, and is by far the most commonly used by members of the Islamic, Christian, Jewish and traditional African faiths.
Many cultures believe that burial is the most respectful and dignified way to treat the body, and find comfort in having a specific gravesite for family and friends to visit.
The primary drawback (both environmental and utilitarian) to burial, especially in South Africa, is that it requires space. With the surge in deaths from the HIV/AIDS pandemic, our cemeteries are rapidly filling up, and the scope for new sites is extremely limited. And, once a cemetery is full, it tends to become, quite literally, dead space, in that it has no future alternative function.
In other ways, too, modern burial is environmentally unfriendly. In addition to the resource use and pollution involved in manufacturing them, modern coffins are often elaborate affairs that introduce potentially harmful substances into the soil, such as solvents and glues, and non-biodegradable elements like metal plaques and handles.
Embalming, which preserves the body prior to burial by injected chemicals such as formaldehyde, introduces yet more toxins to the ground.
Also, conventional cemeteries require considerable upkeep and resources to maintain them as the tidy, tranquil havens they are intended to be.
Cremation: space-efficient but toxic
Cremation doesn’t require cemetery space, and it’s cheaper than burial - both important considerations in the local context.
Another advantage is that your ashes can be scattered practically anywhere – the law here doesn't restrict this, says Theo Rix, Western Cape manager of Doves funerals. This allows you broad scope to choose a place with special significance, either for burying or scattering the ashes.
But crematoria do contribute to air pollution. Cremation releases toxins such as formaldehyde, hydrogen chloride, dioxins and mercury into the atmosphere, and the combustion process adds to greenhouse gas emissions. Incinerators also require fairly high amounts of energy to run.
Towards a greener death
In some parts of the world, most notably the United Kingdom, the increasingly popular green or natural burial movement is working to reform how we return to dust and ashes. Green burial aims to have as low an impact on the environment as possible, and to create sites that become a natural asset rather than the sterile, rather grim and rundown places traditional cemeteries can be.
With natural burial, bodies are not embalmed, coffins are simple and made of easily decomposable, non-toxic materials, and trees or shrubs are usually preferred to headstones.
In South Africa, we don’t yet have such ‘woodland burial sites’ or ‘memorial parks’, but we can still apply some of the movement’s admirable principles:
Choose a simple container
Generally, the more elaborate and expensive the coffin, the longer it takes to biodegrade. By law, says Theo Rix, you need to be buried in a container sturdy enough to transport the body and not leak body fluids – but apart from these criteria, a coffin can be made of just about any materials, preferably those that break down quickly in the ground and don’t release toxins.
‘Greener’ models in use include coffins made of cardboard, which breaks down rapidly in soil, and is often made from recycled materials. Other relatively environmentally friendly materials include woven branches, wicker, bamboo and papier-mâché. Some people make their own coffins, or commission a craftsman to do so. A shroud, made out of a sufficiently strong natural fabric, is another way to go.
Ask your funeral director about new options available. The Lebone Coffin, for example, is an innovation that became available in the last year. Inventor Paseka Hlatshwayo explains that he first had the idea of a ‘seated’ coffin while watching a programme on the space shortage in our cemeteries.
“It’s all very well saying people must choose cremation and bury more than one person in a grave site – but these are just not culturally acceptable,” says Hlatshwayo. “But burying a corpse in a seated position is in accordance with the ancient African tradition of burying royalty – this is true of the North and South Sotho and the Nguni”.
“The product also uses less material and costs less to manufacture.”
Hlatshwayo’s award-winning design has an additional feature to prevent theft: a chemical indicator that changes colour as the body decomposes, indicating that the coffin has been used.
Look beyond the cemetery wall
If you’re fortunate enough to own land in the countryside, you could decide to be buried there.
Requests for burials on small-holding and farms, which often have historical family graveyards, are not uncommon, says Rix. “You need to apply to Home Affairs for a funeral certificate that will legalize such a burial. Your funeral director can help you organize this. As long as certain requirements are met, such as digging the grave at least six feet down, and making sure there won’t be contamination of water courses, most such applications get the go-ahead.”
Burial at sea – preferably in a weighted, biodegradable shroud or simple coffin – is also worth considering. There's still plenty of space on the ocean floor…
Don’t litter
Ashes themselves are thought to have little impact on the environment. Nonetheless, it’s obviously better to choose a disposal site that won’t interfere with anyone not involved in the ceremony e.g. immediately upstream from a popular bathing area would clearly be an unfortunate idea. Scatter the ashes close to the ground or water surface, and choose a still day.
Less harmless than ashes is funereal litter: items such as artificial wreaths and non-biodegradable crematorium urns, either buried or cast into water, are obviously not the greenest way to go.
Donate before you bury or cremate
Just because you won’t be using your body any more doesn’t necessarily mean someone else can't: donating your organs or tissues to allow another person to live really is the ultimate in recycling.
Here’s how to become an organ donor:
Anyone under age 70 not suffering from diabetes, hepatitis, cancer or HIV/Aids can be a donor. Costs of the procedure are covered by the hospital or state.
Discuss the decision with your next-of-kin, as they must give approval to have your organs removed upon your death.
Call the Organ Donor Foundation’s toll free number (0800 22 6611) to register. You’ll receive a donor card, and stickers for your ID document and driver's licence.
You can specify which organs (heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas) or tissues (corneas, heart valves, skin, bone) you’d like to donate.
Once you’ve been declared brain-dead by two independent doctors, the specified organs and/or tissues are removed, and the body returned to your family. The procedure doesn't disfigure the body, which can be buried or cremated like any other.
If you change your mind about donation, simply tear up your card, remove the stickers and inform your family.
Contribute to science
You can also donate your entire body to a university for research or training medical students. Some people don’t relish the idea of fledgling doctors poking and prodding their remains, and possibly not treating them with due respect (we’ve all heard those medical student stories); nonetheless, there is as yet no equivalent substitute for this indispensable teaching tool.
The Department of Anatomy and Histology at the University of Stellenbosch, one of many universities that allow people to become cadavers, explains the procedure as follows:
Most cadavers are unclaimed bodies, but if you’re interested, you can contact the Department and they’ll send you a brochure and application form.
At death, the university collects the body as soon as possible and embalms it. A memorial service, at the donor family's cost, may be held without the body being present.
Bodies must be free of contagious diseases, and within a 60 km radius of the medical school, otherwise the university won’t collect the body. The Department strongly advises that your will should not state that you’d like to donate your body to science, because this is legally binding and could have major implications if you are abroad at the time of death. You must state that it is only binding if you die a certain distance from the specified university.
Green or just Cheap?
If you’re concerned that your green funeral will appear ‘cheap’, then pump up the socio-environmental aspect – make it clear that your wishes have to do with heartfelt ideals and concerns. Make up for any material lack by paying attention to the details of the ceremony; this will mean far more ultimately than velvet linings and brass handles.
Also, you can always use the money saved to make a donation to a worthy cause – and have this announced at the funeral ceremony. According to Rix, an average traditional burial costs between R4500 and R5500, and cremation about R3500 – R4000. In both cases, the main expense is the coffin – which can easily push the final figure into the ten thousands if you opt for a deluxe model.
Finally, find a funeral director who is open-minded and understanding about all your concerns – including questions of environmental impact.
- Olivia Rose-Innes, Health24, updated August 2008.
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