When it comes to finalizing one’s life, we are all faced with the decision of having a traditional burial or being cremated. Some people, due to religious or personal reasons, will choose a traditional burial. Still, others are looking for a more ecologically friendly way to end their time here.

There are many reasons cremation is a green alternative to a standard burial. Enbalming fluids have been known to seep into the groundwater, contaminating it with mercury, arsenic and formaldehyde. There is also a fear of bodily contaminants entering the soils; those from treatments such as cancer treated with radiology. Coffins alone are ground contaminators.

Along with pollutants, traditional casket burials are also a cause for alarm over spacial reasons. In America, caskets are often placed inside concrete vaults. These don’t appear to take up a lot of space, but the more and more burials there are, the less and less space is remaining. Countries such as Japan have already begun running out of permanent burial space. The plots remaining are very few and very expensive.

Along with the green movement, there have been some changes to cremation urns as well. There are now eco-friendly, biodegradable urns for those who still choose to have their remains buried. There are also environmentally friendly urns designed to float on top of the water briefly before sinking. They then disolve and allow the remains to float away.

With all the environmental challenges we face today, it is comforting to know that cremation is a more eco-friendly way to end our time on Earth. By not contaminating the ground or taking up valuable space makes cremation a greener alternative to traditional burial. Now having access to biodegradable urns and not having the need for plots and caskets is also a way we can choose to better protect the Earth.