Natural burial

There are many ways to relieve the environment when organizing a burial. We are happy to give you a few tips.

Is it possible to have a completely environmentally neutral burial?

A completely natural burial is unfortunately not possible. This is because humans carry small amounts of harmful substances such as cadmium. The impact of burying these is negligible per individual, but given the current population growth, this is starting to have consequences on a global scale. This is the reason that Natural Burial Grounds work with a limited number of graves per ground surface. In this way, the amount of harmful substances remains limited to a negligible amount per square meter.

A natural burial

Given the impact that burial has, it is all the more important to be as carefully as possible in the surrounding factors. This can be done in many different ways. Firstly, only using biodegradable material. Many coffins contain harmful glue or varnish, which releases additional harmful substances into nature. Fortunately, there are many biodegradable alternatives, such as a carrier with a natural shroud. In addition, attention can also be paid to the amount of CO₂ emissions during transport. The farewell and the subsequent gathering can also be organised at the same location, for example. In addition, it is possible to have printing done on chlorine-free paper or even to send the invitations digitally.

Local materials

These are not the only ways in which the environment can be taken into account. A major factor that is often overlooked is the transportation of the gravestone. Most gravestones are imported from places such as China; transportation that has a major environmental impact. Coffins are also often made of imported wood. The best solution for this is to use materials that come from the Netherlands, or that have been recycled.

In the future

At the moment, there are also alternative processing methods in development that are more sustainable than burial or cremation. These alternatives are not yet available in the Netherlands, but they are increasingly emerging abroad. It is likely to assume that some of them will soon become available in the Netherlands as well. With Resomation, the body is decomposed under pressure by water and potassium hydroxide using a special machine. With Promession, the body is broken down using a type of freeze cooling. With human composting, the body is naturally composted into fertile soil.