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JANUARY 2013
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
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Family owned and operated
since 1996
CREMATION DIVISION
Jonas A. Zahn is the president and founder of Northwoods Cas-
ket Co., a manufacturer of environmentally friendly caskets made
in Wisconsin. He has been involved in casket-making since build-
ing a casket for his Grandfather in 2004 and now distributes sus-
tainable caskets to funeral homes throughout the United States.
Recently invited by the Green Burial Council, Jonas serves as an
advisor to the committee on defining the standards for green
burial containers. Jonas has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil
Engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Jonas
can be reached by email at jonas.zahn@NorthwoodsCasket.com.
Visit Northwoods Casket online a
By Jonas A. Zahn
Greening
the Funeral
Industry
story perspective on land use by itself, cremation and cem-
etery burial might be comparable in environmental, politi-
cal, and economic factors when it comes to promoting a
healthy environment for all living things.
I offer another consideration on the subject land compe-
tition when comparing cemetery burials with cremation.
America’s cemeteries serve our cities, villages, and towns as
green space. Some cemeteries serve their communities in
the same way that a park does by offering a safe and qui-
et place for a walk or exercise. Cemeteries provide wildlife
habitat for birds, butterflies, and squirrels as well as storm
water run-off control. More recently, America’s growing
number of conservation cemeteries for natural burials both
preserve and protect lands for public enjoyment and for
natural wildlife habitat. Families concerned about land
competition may be interested in options for nearby con-
servation cemeteries where funds raised through the sale of
burial plots serve to maintain and protect the land for con-
servation, wildlife, and recreational purposes.
Every individual should have the liberty to make their
own choices when it comes to end-of-life care. An individ-
ual’s choice is personal.What should be important to those
of us in the death care industry is that an individual’s choice
be an informed one. We fail to serve our families if we are
complacent in accepting an individual’s decision without
understanding the motivation or base values behind that
decision. That is not to say we should question an individ-
ual’s values, but rather inform with facts so that our fami-
lies can make informed decisions in accordance with their
individual values. After all, isn’t it our duty to inform our
families without questioning their values or judging their
wishes?
Is Cremation a Green
Alternative to a Casketed
Cemetery Burial?
In the last decade cremation has continued to grow in its
appeal to families in America. The percentage of deaths in
the U.S. where families have chosen cremation has grown
from less than 4% in 1960 to more than 40% annually.
With growing interest in sustainability, manymarketers have
touted cremation as a green alternative to a casketed burial in
a cemetery. Let us examine cremation with carbon life cycle
assessment and our definition of Green as it applies to death
care to also include the political and economic factors in pro-
moting a healthy environment for all living things.
Consider a typical cremation that includes a wooden cre-
mation container and human remains. Interestingly, a 2011
Netherlands study revealed that cremation with wood-
en caskets result in less fossil-fuel used during incineration.
The wood serves as a renewable fuel source—thus the more
wood used in the cremation container, the less fuel required
during incineration. The fossil-fuel powered cremation pro-
cess takes 2-3 hours for the stages of warm-up and incinera-
tion where temperatures reach 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. An
Australian study determined the combined release of CO2
from burning the fossil fuel, cremation container, and hu-
man remains is 350 lbs CO2. Other sources suggest the car-
bon impact of incineration is closer to 600 lbs CO2. The
Australian study at 350 lbs CO2 compares favorably to the
impact of an imported steel casket at 2000 lbs CO2. How-
ever, cremation is 7 times greater than the impact of a green cas-
ket made locally from sustainable materials at 50 lbs CO2.
The toxicity of cremation is harder to quantify than the car-
bon impact. Cremation generates emissions of nitrogen oxides,
carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, mercury,
hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride (HCl), NMVOCs,
and other heavymetals, in addition to Persistent Organic Pollut-
ants (POP). For a human body that contains metal implants or
dental fillings, the impact of incineration releases harmful diox-
ins andmercury—there is an ongoing debate on how to address
mercury poisoning from cremation which the United States
EPA believes is the 3rd largest contributor of air-born mercury
contamination.The UnitedNations has estimated that 0.2%of
the global emission of dioxins and furans are from cremation.
While embalming is not required for direct cremation, circum-
stances that include a viewing or service prior to cremation of-
ten include embalming. The toxic gases released by cremating
an embalmed body are cause for further controversy over the
health and environmental impacts of cremation.
One green argument in favor of cremation invokes the social,
political, and economic factors of land use. Studies in Austra-
lia and the Netherlands concluded that the carbon impact of
cemetery maintenance alone could account for as much as 30
lbs CO2 per grave site every year. Some believe that a casket-
ed burial in a cemetery occupies precious land space that could
serve other useful purposes. The Netherlands study points out
that land competition is a contributing factor for cremation if
we consider the land use involved in producing the particle-
board, wood, and cotton used in cremation containers. Add to
this the land use required to extract, refine, store, and distribute
fossil fuels. We should also consider that a large contributor to
the growing popularity of cremation since the 1960s has to do
with the acceptance of cremation by the Catholic Church. The
Catholic Church maintains that cremated remains must be en-
tombed in an appropriate container in a cemetery, mausoleum,
or columbarium—all of which occupy land space. From a full-
The Maritime Burials Crew
Full-Body Burial At Sea The Focus Of
New Funeral Services Partnership
LONG BEACH,CA—
Mar-
itime Burials
, a leader in
full-body burial at sea funer-
ary services, has announced
a service partnership with
Carson Mortuary
of Car-
son, CA. Burials take place
offshore in federal waters at
depths of 600 feet or more,
as required by the govern-
ment for the interment of
full-body (non-cremated) re-
mains.
“Full-body burial at sea re-
mains a time honored tra-
dition for members of our
armed services. But few know
of its availability to the gener-
al public,” says
David Schaff-
ner
of Maritime Burials.
“Ocean burial can be especially memorable for family
and friends, particularly for those with a fondness for the
sea,” adds
Andy DeLangis
, director of Carson Mortuary.
“Afterwards, just visiting the ocean shore can evoke power-
ful memories of loved ones returned to the embrace of the
seas. And because geographic (GPS) coordinates of each
burial are carefully logged, family members can be buried
in close proximity just as with traditional land burial.”
Though interment at sea is permitted, provisions and in-
vestment of equipment in carrying out this type of service
require specialized expertise. “Maritime Burials’ primary
focus is to serve both the public and the funeral business
by making available this unique and eco-friendly burial al-
ternative,” says DeLangis.
With the help of natural microbial processes and time, even
the required wood or metal caskets used in full-body sea buri-
als eventually break down into their natural elements.
“Beyond making a strong symbolic statement, a burial
at sea actually eliminates many of the costs associated with
traditional cemetery burials—not to mention the reduced
carbon footprint of both cremation and land burial due
to the need for continuous upkeep. I can’t think of a more
eco-friendly way of returning our remains to nature,” says
Schaffner. Maritime Burials accepts out of state ship-ins into
LAX airport and prepares the casket using Carson Mortuary
as the local receiving funeral home.
For pricing andmore detailed funeral director support there is
a “Director Login” button located on the www.maritimeburi-
als.com contact page. Call or email for login user name and
password, 562-715-4594 or david@maritimeburials.com.