Environmental impact cremation
What is the environmental impact of a cremation? As a cremation might be preferable for environmental reasons. Burial is a known source of certain environmental contaminants, with the coffin itself being the major contaminant, however in some countries e.g. Europe legislation now requires that cremators be fitted with abatement equipment (so called cremation filters) that remove serious pollutants such as mercury and others.
The mercury comes from dentist fillings, this is a old dentist technic. But older people still have these kind of fillings. Luckily in the modern era dentist use these days a other solution without mercury. So in the future the cremation filters don’t have to filter mercury because it isn’t there. And as this mercury is a heavy metal it’s seen as hazardous waste. Till now the concentration of mercury in the cremation filter system is to low, to recover mercury from these used cremation filters. There for these cremation filters are stored deep under the ground in salt mines. Till there is a cheap solution found to recover all mercury out of these filters, so that it’s profitable. Read more about the environmental impact of a cremation
Each cremation uses approximately about 30 Litre of natural gas per 15 minutes and releases about 240 Kilogram of carbon dioxide CO2 into the atmosphere. When roughly 1 million bodies that are cremated annually in the United States produce about 240,000 Tons (270,000 short tons) of carbon dioxide. That’s more CO2 pollution than 22,000 average American homes generate in a year. The environmental impact may be reduced by using cremators for longer periods, and not cremating on the same day as the coffin is received, which reduces the use of fossil fuel / gas and hence carbon emissions. Cremation is therefore becoming more friendly toward the environment though natural burials are also possible. Some funeral and crematorium owners offer a carbon neutral funeral service incorporating efficient-burning coffins made from lightweight recycled composite materials.
Another environmental concern is that traditional burial takes up a great deal of space. In a traditional burial, the body is buried in a casket made from a variety of materials. In the United States, the casket is often placed inside a concrete vault or liner before burial in the ground. While individually this may not take much room, combined with other burials, it can over time cause serious space concerns. Many cemeteries, particularly in Japan and Europe as well as those in larger cities, have run out of permanent space. In Tokyo, for example, traditional burial plots are extremely scarce and expensive, and in London, a space crisis led Harriet Harman to propose reopening old graves for “double-decker” burials.
Some cities in Germany do not have plots for sale, only for lease. When the lease expires, the remains are disinterred and a specialist bundles the bones, inscribes the forehead of the skull with the information that was on the headstone, and places the remains in a special crypt. This problem does not occur when you are cremated. As for the future of cremations, a lot of new innovations lead to a less environmental impact. And as we strive to have cremations without a CO2 foot print and NOx friendly crematoria. When the time is right these new innovations will make green cremators for crematoria possible.