3 Facts About Natural Funeral & Burial Options

Posted on: 3 March 2015

You may spend the entirety of your life paying careful attention to eating natural and being kind to the environment. However, if you do not plan ahead for your funeral and burial, the methods used for your final goodbye may go against what you have always practiced.

Green funerals, often referred to as natural burials, are the perfect solution for people who have a great passion about allowing things to take a natural course, even after death. Here are a few little-known facts about natural burial that you may want to know before heading to the funeral home to make arrangements.

Natural Funeral Preparations Will Not Include Embalming

When a human body is embalmed, natural elements are removed and embalming fluid is added. This process is done to slow the progression of the natural process of decomposition. If you opt for a natural funeral,this step in the process will be eliminated. Keep in mind that this may mean the funeral will have to take place quickly and may mean that an open casket is out of the question.

Natural Burial May Not Include a Traditional Casket

The whole idea of natural burial is to allow the body to naturally return to the earth. Heavy caskets and vaults slow this process in general. If you want a natural burial, you can expect to be offered biodegradable casket options that are created with wood or cardboard.

Keep in mind that not every cemetery will allow burial without a vault. Therefore, it is a good idea to consult with your funeral home director about specific burial locations that will allow for a natural burial.

Natural Burial and Funerals are Not a New Idea

You may consider natural burial as a new and modern way to approach death while being kind to the environment. However, natural funerals and burials have been practiced for a long time. The modern traditions as you know them now were an interruption to the customary natural burial. Therefore, you should never feel uneasy about suggesting a natural burial or funeral service during your planning stages.

When it comes down to it, natural burial and funeral preparation makes a lot of sense for some individuals. However, going the natural way is not the norm, and therefore, it is a good idea to make arrangements with funeral homes like Foster-Warne Funeral Home in advance to ensure your final wishes are carried out by your family members after you pass away.

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