by Kris Hughes
"The goal of life is living in agreement with nature"
- Zeno 335-263 BC
Zeno, and his infamous quote failed to take into consideration the abusive
and parasitic behaviour of future man, and his ability to destroy the environment and live
in detriment to it, and that in death man could and is contributing to the demise of not only
his own future; but that of the natural world around him.
Our intention is to live "good" lives, but what intention do we
project with the disposal of our mortal remains? Modern societies are generally environmentally
aware with the majority of individuals attempting to involve themselves in ecologically
conscious projects such as recycling, how many have thought about recycling their bodies?
We live in a rather overcomplicated, imperialistic and material world
where even the demise of the mortal body is big business, with multi
million dollar corporations and institutions involved and actively
squeezing every last penny available to them through the disposal methods generally
utilised by the funeral industry.
The death industry actively contributes to environmental destruction
and pollution, and all in the name of money! Our crematoriums utilise
the wastage of tons of fuel, fuel that could support the most hungry
and poverty stricken countries of the third world, and even those
closer to home, in fact how many elderly people in your area can afford sufficient
heating to sustain their own lives and its quality? Whilst Crematoriums
burn enormous amounts of fuel for the destruction of something
that nature has intended to simply melt back into the earth.
Crematoriums are potentially contributing to hazardous levels of
mercury emissions into the earth’s atmosphere, mostly from the burning
of bodies bearing amalgam dental fillings. It is estimated that by 2020
up to 35% of all atmospheric mercury will directly result from crematoria,
this equates to an increase of up to 2.2 tonnes of additional harmful
pollutants ascending to our atmosphere compared to the current levels
of up to 1.34 tonnes. In 1990 strict regulations were introduced for
crematoria regarding the environment, however this failed to encompass
the issue of mercury, a matter which DEFRA are currently involved with.
The decrease of dangerous levels of Dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzo
dioxins and furans) has been significant and crematoria only contribute
a small amount of these chemicals into the atmosphere, but the dioxins
are still being emitted therefore the problem continues to impact on
our environment.
Consider also the excessive use of wood and wood products that
are cremated daily along with the body, wood that generally stems from non sustainable
forestry; the damage to the environment increases threefold, not only do crematoria
contribute to the global warming of our planet and the emissions of dangerous pollutants,
they indirectly contribute to the mass global deforestation that potentially threatens
humanity in its entirety. Un-researched but potentially dangerous levels of Formaldehyde
and Di-sodium Hydrogen from the embalming process also potentially pose a threat when
released into the air, chemicals which have already proved to be effective carcinogens.
If our intention and the cause and effect ripple which stems from that
intention unknowingly damages the environment we cannot be excused, our contribution to
potential ecological catastrophe is significant, and we must bear in mind the future of
our children and their children and the quality of their lives, the "I’ll
be dead by then, why should I worry" attitude is a blatant display of the lack of
personal responsibility and duty we have to protect the future of our mutual mother,
Earth. In death our legacy can be so much more enriching than bestowing a financial blessing
on our offspring of family, instead we can enrich the world around us.
It is complacency that altered our perception of the importance of our
environment and its protection, as our world became further lost in the trappings of
commercialism we have distanced ourselves from that entity which feeds us, waters us, nurtures
us and provides us with air to breathe. Instead of living in harmony with the world around
us we live antagonistically to it, defending ourselves from it and holding our corporeal
forms in higher regard to it. As orthodox religion crumbles and groans beneath centuries of
illusionary fabrication, emphasis of the soul left the human psyche and was further replaced by
a ferocious and illogical obsession with the preservation of the human body. The
reality of death and the subsequent decomposition process has become abhorrent to the human
mind, and we find ourselves in a society compelled to protect the density of matter and reject
the impeding deliberation that we will ultimately rot! And of course the entrepreneurs of the
world cashed in on this apparent weakness of mankind, a weakness we have displayed since
the beginning of civilisation.
The resurgence of personal spirituality and concern for the environment at large
has prompted the movement commonly referred to as "Alternative or green funerals", a
movement that is positively impacting the funeral and death industry.
Rather than attempting to preserve the body and inadvertently
polluting the environment by embalming etc, and then contributing to the quarrying of minerals
and other geologies for the production of tombstones, we can and are able to simply die and be
dead in an ethical and bio-diversified manner. In manners that positively reduce the
impact and ecological footprint of man upon the earth, and the methods are surprisingly simple.
Currently the growth of Woodland burial grounds far exceeds previous expectations
of the green funeral movement. And now over 150 exist and the numbers are increasing, these help
protect the land from the living, preventing development and act as refuge sites for
British wildlife. They also utilise the use of biodegradable products, such as
eco-pod coffins manufactured from papier-mâché, or recycled cardboard
coffins, most woodland sites will refuse permission for the interment
of wooden coffins. The body is buried significantly shallower than a
conventional burial allowing a tree, which is planted atop the body,
to feast on the nutrients supplied by decomposition.
Burial on private property is a viable option and the utilisation of these
methods of disposing can eliminate the need for a funeral director, and in some cases are free.
There is no legal requirement in England or Wales where the council’s environmental health
officers need to be informed for private burial, and these types of burials do not need any form
of advance permission.
The officers of local authorities do not have the power to order exhumations but
they can prevent a deposit into land that they claim to be detrimental to the environment, this
however would not stand in a court of law. All that is required in the UK is a burial authorisation
where the slip must be signed and completed by the land owner and returned to the Registrar.
The Registration of Burials Act 1864 applies to private burials and there must be
a legally recognised document pertaining to the location of the grave. No laws exist which state,
that a body must be contained in a coffin or "Box", no requirement for a Christian
Funeral with an officiate, and no requirement to use a funeral director.
Burial at sea is permitted in certain areas of British waters, a licence is
needed from DEFRA, Department of Environment food and Rural Affairs, this licence is free. Most
local authorities will discourage sea burials, the system is complicated and expensive
and the risk of the body returning to land is significant. Currently there are
three facilities in the UK that allow and accommodate these burials; these are the Needles
Spoil Ground, Isle of Wight; Newhaven, and an area outside the mouth of the Tyne. Information can
be obtained via DEFRA or your local fisheries inspector. However the regulations are strict.
The coffin must be of solid softwood, and weighted with 200kg of iron, steel or
concrete, that is clamped to the underside of the coffin via steel bars. The body must
also be weighted and holes drilled in the coffin to allow sufficient flooding for sinking. The
body must carry an identity tag in plastic, and a free from infection certificate must be produced.
All in all only 20 such burials take place each year and can cost up to £4,000, and they are
typically not environmentally friendly. The Coroner must also issue an Out of England
certificate. The trickiest part of these burials is actually finding a boat! Not exactly what you
would consider an environmentally friendly funeral!
As Pagans and Druid Priests we can be invaluable in assisting individuals who
have decided to perform a personal funeral for their loved one, we can offer advice and comfort to
them. Actively arranging or positively involving oneself in the funeral and disposal
of a dead human body is not only psychologically comforting and healing, but offers opportunities
to safeguard a part of this world, a part that will stay forever green because of our legacy. Our
aim should be to minimise our ecological footprint and honour this planet we call home, the
little we can achieve in life can be extended in death and assist the
bio diversification of our planet.
As individuals within the modern Pagan movement surely we must be aware of the
ecological damage the death industry not only contributes towards
but also encourages as an illusion of immortality and comfort. Regardless
of what we know or don’t know about the disposal of human remains,
as Pagans we have a responsibility for this planet and its eco-system,
and should be actively informing ourselves and others of the legacy we
should leave. Through ignorance we will continue to contribute towards
the environmental wound that the death industry encourages and presses
upon the world. As those who are constantly faced with the reality and
mystery of death, through ritual and attunement, and that of our own
mortality, we are able to inform others to make far-reaching and ecologically
ethical decisions regarding their own deaths. And of course our own.
The aim of this article is not simply one of education but also of reaching
out to those within the Pagan world to think of their deaths and how
that death can bring a profundity of life into the world at large, and
that death truly isn’t the end of life but merely the beginning
of a vast chain reaction of life in all its paradoxical wonder.
If you have any questions or queries regarding ethical dying, the death
industry please contact me at wales [at] druidnetwork [dot] org
Further useful information can be obtained from the Natural Death Centre,
20 Heber Road, London NW2 6AA.
www.naturaldeath.org.uk.
Ecopods can be found at:
www.ecopod.co.uk
Cardboard coffins:
www.environ.org.uk
www.eco-coffin.co.uk
In this article it must be clear that any regulatory standards I have referred
to apply only to England and Wales, and do not necessarily represent the views of local
authorities and their by-laws.
Kris Hughes
September 2005
