Traditional embalming methods harming the Earth and sapping resources

Murrmurr

Murrmurr

SF VIP
Location
Sacramento, California
So I just heard that you could fill 3 Olympic sized swimming pools with the embalming fluid that is dumped into the ground every year.

And one cremation uses enough electricity to power a large home for 2 years....or was it 1 year? Anyway, you need a whole lot of electricity to incinerate a corpse.

I donated my body to a medical university, but eventually it will get incinerated. Maybe bit by bit, but still.... There is the fact that my body will be of benefit to medical students, but I wonder if that's a balanced exchange.
 

There are natural burial options now.

I considered donating my body, but I'd have to pay to have the body transported, etc. It would have cost me hundreds. Nah.
 
All set up for cremation, no embalming, no service, no obit in the paper. Just put me in the oven, then mix my ashes with the hubbies (here at home) They will be taken to the funeral home when I pass for us to share one container. No one has to make a decision, no one has to worry about expense, no one has to gather, spend money and time to travel or hold a memorial. I did the whole big thing when my love passed but I don't want that.

The only thing I would ask is that you order your favorite pizza and then have your favorite ice cream for dessert. That is what we did when we were just a couple of crazy kids in love. Now that is a good funeral!! you are getting a great family meal for 20-30 bucks, at home in your pajamas!!
 
NorthernLight said:
There are natural burial options now.

I considered donating my body, but I'd have to pay to have the body transported, etc. It would have cost me hundreds. Nah.
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Well that seems totally unfair. No bill to donate to the university here, I got a Thank You letter (in advance).

Maybe that's because my PCP and hospital are associated with the university. The hospital will transport my body.
 
1955 said:
We buried my sister on her farm. The only requirements were she had to be in the ground within 24 hours and the site had to be declared as such – some kind of deed that would keep it clear for a 100 years. No embalming necessary.

There is also a new method of human composting popping up in several states: How human composting could reduce death’s carbon footprint
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I've seen where, for a lot cheaper than a funeral, a person's remains can be reduced to fit in a small biodegradable pouch, and they stick a handful of soil and a germinated tree or rosebush seed in there, and then you plant it. But how do they reduce the body to the size of a small root-ball?
 
Nathan said:
Cremation makes better sense. Electric? I would think a natural gas crematory would be more common.
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Yeah, I thought so, too. But the documentary where I got this info from said they need electricity to make the fire burn hot enough to destroy the major bones and stuff, and to do it quickly. Takes days to burn a body to ashes with a wood fire or with coals. Or gas, apparently (per the documentary). I'm trying to remember....I think it said 1200 degrees, or 1800. Somewhere in the tens of thousands.
 
Murrmurr said:
Yeah, I thought so, too. But the documentary where I got this info from said they need electricity to make the fire burn hot enough to destroy the major bones and stuff, and to do it quickly. Takes days to burn a body to ashes with a wood fire or with coals. Or gas, apparently (per the documentary). I'm trying to remember....I think it said 1200 degrees, or 1800. Somewhere in the tens of thousands.
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Seemed like an interesting question, so I did a little Google research. It appears both gas and electric are used. However in the US gas is more common. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation
 
bingo said:
now they're wanting to compost people 🙄
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Well, they're offering to, if it's what the person wants.

The issue here is, is turning folks into compost bad for the environment? Does grinding up a corpse rob the earth of precious resources and leave a big fat carbon footprint? Sure, human compost can help grow vegetables, but is it really more earth-friendly than burial?

Before I decided to go with donating my (dead) body to the local medical university, I requested being buried without a casket, coffin, or sarcophagus of any kind. Apparently, that's illegal so I asked about a leaky pine box...also unacceptable. So, I spent the money on something entirely unrelated; something I can enjoy now.
 
Nathan said:
On the surface that sounds like a low cost, natural way.
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Seems like it ought to be, but low cost it isn't. Maybe if it get more popular prices will fall.

The price for a human composting disposition is currently between $4,000 – $5,500. https://www.us-funerals.com/human-c...care-alternative-a-guide-to-nor/#.Y3avvnbMK4Q
Nathan said:
Only question I have is: where to keep a rotting body...
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Not in my backyard! Unless it's 6 feet under...
 

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