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Monday 26 January 2015

An Eco funeral

What is an Eco Funeral?

Eco means reducing the amount of C02 that will be produced from your funeral.
Think about the suppliers you will use, the products you will buy and how you can reduce, reuse and recycle. How far will your Suppliers/Supplies have to travel to get to your desired venue? Your funeral can still be everything you desire and have that ‘life celebration’ factor without costing the earth.

Venue

  • Can you cut down on travel and have both ceremony and reception at the one venue?
  • When talking with a venue ask them what their Environmental policies are and include carbon footprint, fair-trade goods and recycling in your questions.
  • Does your venue buy local and/or organic produce? Will they offer you an organic alternative if you wish?
  •  

Order of Service

  • Try having family sending out the order of service via email
  • Use recycled paper or from handmade paper
  • Ask people to recycle the order of service at the bottom of the page.
  • Use your imagination and give people something creative like something they can use again or even eat!


The Vessel

  • Consider a cardboard coffin, woolen or  bamboo or other biodegradable container 
  • For your dress use organic materials such as silk and cotton bought from fair-trade suppliers
  • Perhaps have your body dressed in a biodegradable cloth such as cotton.


Flowers

  • Try sourcing local and seasonal wildflowers. This will you cut emissions that would be generated by delivery.  
  • For centrepieces, use oxygen producing potted plants or candles with green foliage.
  • Are the Florists flowers organically grown in season?
  • Do they recycle & compost? Does the florist work with farmers who follow sustainable practices?


Burial

  • Choose a green graveyard for burial.  
  • Choose a living marker for your grave plot site such as a tree.


Alternatives

  • Opt out of embalming
  • New upcoming Irish service Ecolation could be the answer for you if you are preplanning a purely ecological end of life exit.



1 comment:

  1. A great piece. For info on green funerals in the UK see The Natural Death Centre charity @ndccharity

    ReplyDelete