New Study Analyzes Sustainable After-Life Options

Unfortunately, death is something that will happen to us all, and we must find a sustainable end-of-life option. Burial land is running out, especially in smaller and densely populated areas, and to minimize environmental impact, it is important to find a way to return bodies to nature.

Source: TEDx Talks/YouTube

A new study analyzed 408 human bodies exhumed from grave spots and stone tombs in Northern Italy to find out what conditions can help speed up the decomposition process.

Burial and cremation, the two most common types of end-of-life options, are both problematic for the environment in their own way. Burial takes up land and takes a long time for the body to decompose. Not only can casket burials be incredibly expensive, but the creation of the casket requires emissions for manufacturing and transportation. On the other hand, cremation has a huge carbon footprint. Research has found that cremation gives off as many emissions as driving a car 700 miles.

Although there are many new alternatives, including human composting and turning bodies into trees, many are not viable options or are not aligned with people’s beliefs.

The researchers found that the most environmentally sustainable choice in a coffin was one that allowed the body to decompose in just a few years. In traditional sealed tombs, bodies can take more than 40 years to skeletonize. In sealed tombs, bacteria consumed oxygen which makes it much easier for the body to be preserved.

They also found that burial grounds with a high percentage of sand and gravel in the soil helped promote decomposition and the skeletonization of bodies in less than 10 years, even if they were in a coffin. This is because of the circulation of air and microfauna in the soil.

The researchers also discovered that placing bodies inside tombs or covering them with stone slabs on the ground makes the formation of corpse wax. These entombed bodies that get corpse wax have incredibly low decomposition rates and can even completely stop the decomposition process.

We hope that this study will open the door to research into how we can make death sustainable.

Recently, California legalized human composting as a new end-of-life burial option that will benefit the environment. Human composting involves placing a body into an insulated vessel that has organic material and helps speed up the composting process. Teeth are removed to prevent mercury contamination from possible dental fillings. Once decomposition is complete, which can take three months, the vessel is opened, and large bones are removed. The smaller bones can be pulverized and left in the vessel for a longer period to decompose. The soil can be returned to the family to use how they wish, or the funeral home often offers services to get the soil back into the earth.

This could be an amazing way to reconnect with nature and do one last amazing thing for the earth. We hope that other states will be encouraged to follow this new legalization!

Related Content:

• California Legalizes Green End-of-Life Alternative: Human Composting
• 7 Ways to Say Goodbye and Honor the Memory of Your Departed Pet
• 10 of the Most Interesting Pet Cemeteries in the United States
• 10 Deadly Pandemics that Changed the Course of History

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take the initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your own food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!