Ideal Bite

Eco-Burials

Grin and Bury It

05.22.2009

Submitted by jharper on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 11:00pm.

Seattle

The Bite:

You put up with a lot (kitty alarm clock, anyone?), but no need to compromise on your final resting place. Opt for A Sacred Moment's eco-friendly burial services - no nasty embalming chems, a biodegradable casket (like this bamboo one, see photo), and an unlined grave instead of a traditional concrete vault to keep you closer to your roots (plant roots, anyway). Plus, ASM works with eco-conscious cemeteries, such as Ferndale's Greenacres Memorial Park (certified by the Green Burial Council), which you can totally live with.

Why Care?:

In the United States, 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid (which contains stuff like formaldehyde) are buried with the dearly departed each year and can absorb into the soil and contaminate water supplies.

We used to think we'd prefer cremation when we bit it, but turns out that process releases stuff like carbon monoxide into the environment.

Wanna Try:

A Sacred Moment - Home Funerals & Life Celebrations, 1801 12th Ave., Ste. A (206-529-3803). Green burial, about $3,000.

Map It

Cocktail Fact

No one has died of old age in the United States since 1951 - because, that year, the government removed the "old age" category option from death certificates.

Small Changes Add Up

If 10,000 Seattle Biters opt for an eco-burial, we'll avert enough toxic embalming fluid to fill 102 average-size caskets.

1 comment

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Elizah Leigh on May 26, 2009 at 07:57 AM 1

I'm a member of an online green social network called www.greenwala.com and have learned quite a lot about greener burial alternatives in addition to a vast number of more cheerful green-themed topics. I highly recommend the community. One of my fellow greenies there told the community about "Eternal Reefs", where the ashes of a deceased person are turned into reef balls that ultimately create new marine habitat for sea creatures. Greenwala also has a video posted on the topic of green burials right here: http://www.greenwala.com/my_videos/371-Green-Burial-Options

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Grin and Bury It

Cocktail Fact

Small Changes Add Up

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