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Originally Posted On: 5 Reasons You Should Choose A Carbon Neutral Funeral Home (greencremationtexas.com)

 

If you’re dedicated to sustainability and environmentalism, you should choose a funeral home that is carbon neutral. Learn why this choice is wise here.

Planning a funeral for a loved one is a difficult process. Whether you are planning ahead of time, or are in the middle of the grieving process trying to sort out the details, there’s no easy way to go about it.

Should you choose between a burial or cremation? Should you have an extravagant memorial, or keep it simple and save on costs? There are lots of details to decide on.

The good news is that both burial and cremation services are becoming more environmentally friendly. Many burial homes and cremation providers are working to become carbon neutral. While this doesn’t make the process easier, it can help with a very important decision; where to take your loved one.

It’s very difficult to completely prevent carbon emissions. But at Green Cremation Texas, we offer a carbon neutral cremation service. You can rest assured knowing that your loved one’s last impact here was a positive one.

But what does carbon neutral mean, and why is it important regarding funerals? Keep reading to discover why you should consider an eco-friendly funeral home for your loved one.

 

Carbon Neutral Meaning and Why It’s Important

So what is carbon neutral, and why should it be a consideration concerning the funeral of a loved one?

As our society continues to grow and advance, everything we do has an impact on the environment. Unfortunately, the majority of our impact is negative. We are harming our environment and creating a less-than-ideal planet to live on.

Carbon emissions are released into the atmosphere when we harvest and use fossil fuels, such as gasoline to power cars and planes. Most of the electricity we use today comes from burning limited, harmful resources.

While we continue to develop eco-friendly technology to power our society, many functions of our daily lives still cause carbon emissions. Things like transportation, manufacturing, and even funerals cause emissions.

The amount of carbon emissions you generate is known as your carbon footprint. While you can’t control all of your emissions, you can take steps to neutralize your footprint. This is done by investing in other ways to offset your negative impacts.

1. Cremation Is More Environmentally Friendly

Regarding the environment, cremation isn’t perfect. The most popular option is flame cremation, which does result in a small number of carbon emissions. Anytime something burns, it releases carbon dioxide into the environment.

However, the total carbon footprint of cremation is much less than a standard burial. With cremation, nothing unnatural is buried in the earth. Also, products such as caskets or tombstones don’t need to be manufactured. As a result, cremation is much less harmful than a standard burial.

2. Green Cremation Is More Affordable

Burial funerals usually cost much more than cremation. You’ll need to purchase a casket, and cemetery plot, and pay to have your loved one prepared for burial.

 

Many also spend money on expensive decorations and flowers. Costs for a burial can range between $6,000 and $8,000.

On average, cremation is much more affordable, so long as you don’t feel the need to spend on extras. The average cost for a flame cremation is $2,300. However, our environmentally-friendly cremation is $945. An urn to keep the ashes usually costs $100 or more.

When you are focusing on minimizing the environmental impact, you also get to save a lot of money on your funeral expenses.

3. Green Cremation Preserves Land Used for Cemeteries

When you choose cremation services over burial, you help preserve the land. Cemeteries occupy a large amount of land across the country.

To use a plot of land as a cemetery, funeral homes need to clear the land of any natural features. The land is then filled with caskets, clothing, trinkets, embalming fluid, and tombstones. These additives destroy the soil.

If more people would choose cremation services, less land would need to be cleared and used as cemeteries. Instead, we could keep the land natural, covered with plants, flowers, trees, and wildlife. This helps to reduce carbon capture and protect the environment.

4. Water Cremation Is the Least Impactful

The newest form of cremation removes the flame altogether. In water cremation, also known as aquamation, bodies are submerged in water and an alkali solution.

This process replicates the natural decomposition of the body. In the end, what’s leftover is the natural elements of the body in the water; amino acids, sugars, salts, and so forth.

 

The only thing leftover is the bones, which are then turned into pulverized remains for the family to keep as a memorial.

Water cremation uses 90% less energy than typical flame cremations. Unlike flame cremations, water cremations don’t release airborne toxins. This is the most environmentally-friendly cremation option.

Unfortunately, because the service has only been around since 2011, only 14 states have legalized water cremation. If you are interested, you may need to have the process completed in another state.

5. Leave a Smaller Footprint

Transportation for your loved one takes place in an electric-hybrid vehicle. We also do our best to limit the distance needed to transport your loved one.

All of the paperwork needed to process the cremation takes place online. This means not wasting paper, and not requiring in-person meetings, which require transportation.

We also prepare your loved one before the cremation process by removing any metal or plastic implants or devices. This ensures no additional toxins are released unnecessarily.

Our state-of-the-art, energy-efficient crematorium preserves as much energy as possible when performing cremations. And we place the remains of your loved one in an eco-friendly urn before we turn them to you.

Choosing a Carbon Neutral Funeral Home

We understand that it can be very difficult to plan a funeral, and how to handle your loved one at the moment. At Green Cremation Texas, we do our best to make the process as easy and stress-free as possible during this difficult time.

Whether you are taking steps to plan a funeral ahead of time, or need support right away, we are available 24/7. You can rest assured knowing that your loved one was handled properly in a carbon neutral manner, leaving a positive environmental legacy

Contact us today with any questions you have about cremation, or how we can help you.