Seven things people believe about funerals that aren’t actually facts
Photo Credit: Larkspur Conservation, Nature Preserve for Natural Burial in Tennessee
Some common misconceptions about natural burial:
There are laws that require caskets/vaults/embalming. There are no federal or state laws that require a body be buried in a casket covered in a vault. Vaults are typically encouraged by private cemeteries to preserve an level grassy surface. Similarly, there are almost no laws about embalming. The only time embalming is required is when a body is carried across state lines from Alaska and Alabama or when a body is transported on a plane or train from California, Idaho, Minnesota, Kansas, or New Jersey.
Graves must be dug six feet deep. This depends on your state. The average is 3.5’ to 4’ which guarantees enough of a barrier to prevent smells.
Animals will dig up bodies buried without a casket. With 18”-24” of soil barrier between the body and the surface of the ground, no animal (humans included) will be able to smell the body.
Naturally-buried bodies will smell. Same as #3.
Cremation is environmentally-friendly. While cremation is definitely greener than conventional casket-and-vault land burials, they still require a massive amount of fossil fuels to heat the crematorium up to 2000-degree for three to four hours. And the remains that come out of the process are largely non-biodegradable. Many natural cemeteries do not allow scattering of ashes for this reason.
Decomposing bodies pollute local water sources. Buried at the average depth of 3.5’ to 4’, there is no danger of a buried body contaminating a water table which is typically found at about 75’ below ground level.
You can’t bury a body in your backyard. Home burials on private property are legal in every state by Arkansas, California, Indiana, Louisiana, Washington, and the District of Columbia. For more state-specific regulations, please see this resource by the Green Burial Council.