Natural Burial in Canada

Today in Toronto, Ontario’s first natural burial alternative officially announces its incorporation under the name The Natural Burial Co-operative, Inc.; the result of a unique opportunity that brought four people with a shared vision together almost exactly one year ago.

As people around the world came together to celebrate and discuss issues about the future of our planet on Earth Day April 22, these four founders were putting the finishing touches on a business plan to create and launch a new burial option that will offer consumers a choice they have never had before.

The Natural Burial Co-operative is an organization planning to establish natural burial cemeteries across Canada that will preserve green spaces and provide a dignified and environmentally responsive burial option to consumers who are looking to define themselves in death as they have in life…by leaving a lasting legacy.

The Natural Burial Co-operative is founded upon a co-operative business model that honours;

• Conservation
• Sustainability
• Environmental and socially responsible business values.

Natural burial is an environmentally sustainable funeral alternative that embraces the natural cycle of life. Rather than encouraging the unnecessary consumption of resources such as concrete vaults, metal caskets, and chemical preservation… a natural burial creates a living memorial using native trees, shrubs and plants. These living memorials then create living sanctuaries for friends and family to visit and connect with nature and each other.

Natural burial uses a minimum of chemicals and natural resources while maintaining a strong connection with the earth for the deceased and surviving family and friends.
In contrast, consider that each year the 22,500 conventional cemeteries in the United States bury *;

• 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid, which includes formaldehyde
• 30-plus million board feet of hardwoods (Caskets)
• 90,272 tons of steel (Caskets)
• 14,000 tons of steel (Vaults)
• 2,700 tons of copper and bronze (Caskets)
• 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete (Vaults)

Choosing a natural burial option, or in planning the service of a loved one who has passed away, allows one to renew the environment while also providing friends and family with an endearing, meaningful ritual. In this context, natural burial is a statement of personal values, and creates a natural and timeless memorial for those who live on after we are gone.

The Natural Burial Co-operative Inc. is committed to developing natural burial funeral services, products and memorials, which enhance, protect, and preserve our natural environment. With the launch of this new Co-operative, interested consumers will now be able to be a part of this revolutionary burial option through membership. By joining the Co-operative, once Natural Burial sites are opened across the province, these members will be offered the first chance to be part of a new wave of consumers choosing end of life ceremonies and celebrations which;

• Create a lasting natural legacy of life
• Give back to the planet, our community, family and friends
• Reduce the consumption of natural resources.

Contact Us for more information regarding The Natural Burial Co-operative.

* Compiled from statistics by Casket and Funeral Association of America, Cremation Association of North America, Doric Inc., The Rainforest Action Network, and Mary Woodsen, Pre-Posthumous Society