Green burials discussed
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Canada’s cemetery directors are learning this week about ways to catch up with a British trend that offers green burials for environmentally-conscious customers.
Ontario-based cemetery planner Rob Hilton, who attended the Western Canadian Cemetery Association’s annual convention in Calgary, said cemeteries that strive to protect the environment have been cropping up across the U.K. for decades.
Known as ”green” burials, the body cannot be embalmed because chemicals used during the process can leach into the soil, said Hilton.
”The truth of it is we’re not doing this to save the world — it’s a marketing ploy,” Hilton said about offering both traditional and green burial sections.
”That’s where the biggest market’s going to go.”
Corpses can be preserved until funerals with refrigeration or dry ice. The deceased must also be buried inside a biodegradable casket, such as wood, wicker, recycled cardboard or natural fibre, that is free of metal handles or screws.
There are just six cemeteries in Canada that have allocated sections for environmentally-minded citizens to be buried, said Hilton, adding a cemetery in Victoria, B.C., is unveiling a green burial section this fall.
Hilton said the transition to adding green burial options is being driven by a younger generation of green consumers.
Yet many cultures, including Orthodox Jews, have been burying without embalming for centuries.
Archie Lang, Calgary’s cemetery manager, is keen to create green burial sections at future cemeteries.
”There a definitely people that do want a green cemetery and are looking for that opportunity,” he said.
”It’s just something that’s kind of on the cutting edge right now — that’s why we’re talking about it.”