The “green burial” is becoming more common in Walterboro, SC and throughout the United States as people seek ways to cut funeral costs while embracing environmentally-friendly options.
Green burials are heralded for requiring fewer resources than standard burials, while skipping a number of the steps traditionally associated with funerals and burials that can add to the expense of the process while simultaneously taking a greater environmental toll.
According to information released by the National Funeral Directors Association, approximately 54 percent of Americans are considering green burial as an option, and a vast majority of the cemeteries around the United States have seen a significantly increased demand for this service.
What you should know
The purpose of a green burial is to carefully think through every step of the funeral and burial process to find strategies to reduce the carbon footprint and benefit the environment.
Embalming is an expensive process, and coffins and vaults also have some associated expenses. By replacing these processes and items with other options, or simply eliminating them, you could save thousands of dollars. This also helps you avoid putting items in the ground that could be harmful.
There are many different options for green burial in Walterboro, SC. It might simply involve wrapping the body in a cotton shroud and directly lowering it into the ground. There might be options for very simple boxes rather than complex, ornate and expensive caskets. Families might also choose to plant certain flowers, shrubs or plants over the grave site.
Green burials eliminate the embalming chemicals and the extra cement, steel and other materials that are non-biodegradable that might otherwise be put into the earth as part of the burial. This also helps to eliminate the carbon footprint of a cremation. It’s been estimated that a single cremation creates the same carbon footprint as a 500-mile journey in a car.
With regard to the materials put into the earth during burials, consider this: every year in traditional burials, Americans put 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete, 17,000 tons of copper and bronze, 20 million feet of wood, 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluids and 64,500 tons of steel into the ground. That is a massive amount of material that, other than the wood, is not biodegradable. Green burials are able to eliminate most of that waste.
There’s also a more personal feeling associated with green burials. People often choose green burial because they find some level of comfort in a more natural return to the earth, or because they like the idea of contributing to the growth of plants and beauty. This is a particularly popular choice among people who are already environmentally conscious and care about conservation.
It is expected that the number of people seeking green burial options will only continue to grow, as people become familiar with the idea and the prospect of shelling out thousands for a traditional funeral grows less and less appealing. If you’re interested in learning more about green burial and the options available to you during funeral planning in Walterboro, SC, contact Steedley Monument Works today. We specialize in burial monuments and can help you select an option that meets your needs.