Burial options: am I biodegradable?

Have you ever thought about how to dispose of your own corpse? So purely ecological, of course? Author Ronja Ebeling is already planning her funeral when she is 24.

Ronja Ebeling

I stand in the bathroom and stare in the mirror at the body that I am supposed to make disappear. As a healthy young person, I have not yet dealt with how I would like to be buried. My body also has a very last footprint. I've had an organ donation card for years, but what about the parts of my body that nobody wants?

According to the Federal Association of German Undertakers, around 940,000 people die in Germany every year. Exciting: Almost 70 percent of the deceased decided to have a cremation in 2018 – also because it is usually cheaper than having one's body buried. In general, funerals are an expensive affair, depending on the size, 5000 to 7000 euros should be budgeted. Not cheap for a party I won't be there myself. But what is even more interesting for me: What is actually more sustainable, a fire or an earth burial?

What to do with implants

For an overview: In the case of cremation, the furnace of a crematorium must be operated for 45 to 75 minutes at up to 1150 degrees. Pretty scary idea, I know, but it doesn't help. So after my body is pushed into the hot oven like a loaf of bread, nothing should be left but ashes. Theoretically. But first ecological problem: For every third deceased, employees of the crematorium find orthopedic implants among the ashes. Where to put it? A few companies specialize in sorting the metal after cremation and recycling grandma's titanium knee joint or grandpa's hip socket made of cobalt-chrome. Not wrong, I think to myself in the case of an earth burial, the foreign bodies would ultimately be taken into the grave and, depending on the metal, lie there for another 700 years! 700! The medical industry is researching alternatives made from sugar and lactic acid, but so far nothing has caught on across the board.

Since there are no screws or plates in my body (at least yet), I want to avoid the high energy expenditure of cremation: The operation of around 160 crematoria in Germany pollutes the atmosphere with almost 38 million kilograms of CO2 every year. Compared to other industries (for example, traffic with 163.5 million tons of CO2 per year) this is very manageable, but since every step counts as is well known …

But then I am surprised: "There is no general answer to which funeral is most sustainable," says undertaker Werner Kentrup from Bonn, who together with his wife founded the "Green Line" initiative and specialized in ecological funerals. Cremation is cheaper, but it doesn't make much sense if the crematorium is four hours away. This also applies to funerals when the mourners have to tour in a motorcade to a distant forest cemetery. The arrival of many guests can nowadays be avoided with the help of a livestream, as the funerals in lockdown have shown. Please what? could one now think of expressing sympathy in front of the laptop in mourning clothes? One thing is clear: hugging, taking by the hand, grieving together, that helps. But I like the digital idea: Anyway, I would be in favor of only a small group coming to my grave and others joining in.

Blooming corpse field

So I plan my funeral at the local cemetery with cameras for everyone at home. And otherwise? Oh yes, the tombstone. It often comes from Asia, depending on the design, these things are thousands of euros cheaper than a regional product, but this is also due to the fact that two-thirds of them are handled by children. Not to mention the transport route to Hamburg. No, I prefer to have my name carved on a wooden panel, a renewable raw material from the region.

By the way, I think it's the same underground – when choosing the coffin: In the past, a treated precious wood coffin made of oak or mahogany was often chosen. These massive types of wood are not only more expensive, but also less perishable. But honestly: The times of the 90s, when polished mafiosi coffins shone more brilliantly than the fattest hair pomade on the corpse, are over. Here, too, the trend is towards more naturalness, and imperfect wood is often even cheaper.

So I would like a coffin made from linden, alder or pine from sustainable forestry. The pine tree in particular is often damaged by drought and can no longer be used in the furniture industry, for example – but it is perfect for my coffin. There my body can then break down into its basic substances, just the course of nature – literally: because when my body breaks down into carbon, water, magnesium, iron and other trace elements, even a change in the natural vegetation around it is visible: Plants grow super on corpse fields!

Fun fact: cemeteries are an important ecosystem, especially in large cities. Large old trees often grow there, and animals use the quiet as nesting places and winter quarters. Why aren't there more cemeteries in the cities? I ask myself, and can already guess the answer: While environmentalists want to preserve the green areas, construction investors are already sniffing money-making building land. These vultures.

The paint has to be removed

In order not to burden this good ecosystem unnecessarily, microplastics should of course be avoided. Logical, I think, who wants that in their grave? But that's actually a problem: Nail polish, false eyelashes, a jacket made of a polyester blend or shoes made of black lacquer are often part of the coffin contents. But you can't forbid that either, explains Werner Kentrup: "If women have worn nylon stockings all their lives, it would not be right to deny them that at the funeral."

The same applies to silicone: According to estimates, up to 25,000 breast implants are used in this country each year. Silicones are among those plastic compounds that are difficult to biodegrade. What will happen to it underground, what the risks for insects and vegetation will be, cannot yet be foreseen. On the other hand: women choose to feel more comfortable – this also applies when the body is just a shell. Maybe you should leave the church in the village.

My last words now: Since my cover will perhaps fill up with artificial accessories here and there with age (no judgment!), I will have to ask myself again and again in the next few years: Is my planned burial really still sustainable – or wear it I have too much inside of me by now that shouldn't belong underground? "Always tried hard", will then be written on my tombstone. I can live with that. So still.

Would you like to read more about the topic and exchange ideas with other women? Then take a look in the "General Forum" of the BRIGITTE Community past!

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