Many people incorporate “green” practices in their every-day living, and it’s no surprise that the desire to be environmentally conscious extends to after-life preferences as well. In response to an increasing demand for more sustainable choices in the funeral industry, Maryland recently enacted the Green Death Care Options Act, which authorizes the use of several new environmentally friendly alternatives.
Regulating After-Death Care
After-death care is highly regulated in Maryland. Prior to passage of the Green Death Care Options Act, the only green option for the disposition of remains was referred to as a “green burial.” A green burial is where the body is buried in a biodegradable vessel and no preservatives are used. This method allows the body to decompose naturally into the soil and avoids polluting the environment with embalming fluids. Green burials can be less expensive than traditional burials because they do not involve the high costs of embalming or the price of metal or concrete coffins. However, only a limited number of cemeteries offer green burials.
Now, there are two additional methods for handling human remains, namely “alkaline hydrolysis” and “natural organic reduction.”
What are Alkaline Hydrolysis and Natural Organic Reduction?
Alkaline hydrolysis, also called “water cremation,” is an alternative to fire cremation. It involves placing the body in a mixture of hot water and alkaline chemicals, and heating the mixture with electricity within a stainless-steel vessel. It typically takes about four-to-twelve hours for the body to decompose using this method. What’s left behind is a sterile liquid that is safe for the recycling process.
Natural organic reduction is referred to as “human composting,” and it’s an apt description. In this technique, the body is placed in a large container along with a mixture of natural materials like straw and wood chips. The body and the materials are mixed with warm air and periodically turned. Over a four-to-six week period, the body breaks down into a soil-like material that is nutrient-rich and suitable for spreading, planting, or scattering in a meaningful location.
Both alkaline hydrolysis and natural organic reduction are more environmentally friendly than conventional cremation and burial methods because of the reduction in the use of energy and fossil fuels. More information about each process can be found here.
How to Request an Environmentally Conscious Burial
With these new advances, there are now expanded options for choosing an environmentally friendly treatment of remains. If you want to lessen your death’s impact on the environment, you could prepay for options like alkaline hydrolysis or natural organic reduction. However, since this is a developing area, prepaying for a specific treatment at death might result in choosing an outmoded form as other green treatments become available.
If environmental sustainability is important to you, you can also include in your estate plan specific directions for sustainable after-death treatment of remains. As an example, in your advance health care directive and last will and testament, you could state that you would like to be cremated using environmentally conscientious methods such as natural organic reduction, or any other type of crematory process that uses state-of-the art methods to achieve body reduction in an environmentally neutral manner. Including this type of language can be meaningful to individuals who are environmentally conscientious.
It’s also always a good idea to communicate your preferences to your family members so they can help to honor your wishes. Making your preferences known to the individuals who will arrange for your funeral and burial can help to ensure that your preferences are followed.
If you’re interested in including sustainable practices in your estate plan, contact any of our estate planning attorneys at Hamelburg Law, LLC. We are committed to ensuring that our clients’ plans align with their wishes. This blog was written by Jamie Hamelburg and Sarah Benjamin, attorneys at Hamelburg Law, LLC, and by Viktoria Koch-Paiz, an intern at the firm who is a student at the University of Florida.
Note: The content in this Blog is for informational purposes only and should not be acted upon without first consulting legal counsel. It is not intended to constitute legal advice.
