If you are someone who has tried to live your life in a way that is friendly to the Earth and surrounding environment, it only makes sense that after death, you would value the same things. Between toxic chemicals used in embalming and sinking a foreign metal object into the ground, traditional burial plans are not all that environmentally friendly.

Creating your own green burial plan is all about making sure that the choices you make for your own arrangements coincide with your ideas of being nice to the natural world. Here are a few of the most common questions concerning green burial plans and the answers you should know.

Does green burial mean that you must be buried immediately?

This is perhaps one of the biggest questions people interested in a green burial have. It is a common misconception that the burial will have to happen immediately or the body will start to break down naturally. While this is true, you can choose to be kept in a temperature controlled environment for a few hours to allow a quick viewing for your family members. You can also choose for something deemed "light embalming," which involves the use of a minimal amount of embalming fluid to preserve the body for a little longer.

It is common for the deceased to be taken straight from the location of death to the funeral home for preparations, such as being wrapped in a cotton shroud or placed in a biodegradable box. From there, a brief graveside service may be held for friends and family members. However, this quick burial is not a necessity, but a choice that some people have when it comes to green burial.

Does every funeral home offer green burial to customers?

Not every funeral is technically allowed to offer green burial services. Green burials involve different forms of preparation, some of which the traditional funeral home may not be able to provide. For example, not every funeral home has enough staff to handle incoming calls for immediate burials. Those that do must be approved by the Green Burial Council of North America.

If you think that green burial is the way that you want to go, be sure to talk openly with a funeral director at Affordable Burial & Cremation about how the process works and what will be different. You may just find that a green burial is the most logical funeral alternative for your own personal beliefs.

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