It pisses me off that if I die I have to be filled with preservatives stuck in a big expensive box inside a cement vault. What a stupid waste! That’s what compost piles are for.
But allowing “green” burials often faces obstacles, as this story from the Valley News relates in a story about debate in the town of Lebanon where a five-year delay for “study” is being pushed by the cemetery trustees.
The practice usually involves the use of biodegradable coffins, caskets or shrouds and forgoes the use of a cement vault. Graves also are dug to a shallower depth — 2 to 3 feet — to encourage microbial activity to aid decomposition.
However, cemetery trustees couldn’t agree on key issues, such as who would maintain plots, what materials could be used and whether a funeral director should be required to perform a burial.
I suspect the biggest reason is that last phrase – the current system generates a lot of money for various folks, who balk at changing it.
Return to the Concord Monitor
Having reached geezerdom that is something my wife and I have thought about. Cremation is another common alternative. It has a surprising downside other than the energy used: mercury air pollution from dental amalgam fillings commonly used years ago.
Since we are on the topic of death and burial I want to put in a plug for the NH State Veterans Cemetery. For those of us who served in the military and spouses it is a way to reduce the cost of internment.
https://www.nhsvc.com/
Thank you for bringing this up. I, too, do not want to be embalmed and sealed up in concrete. I’ve been trying to get info on green burials. It looks like this is not available in NH, but it is available somewhere in Maine and in Massachusetts.