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Eco-burials - An evolving industry
By Kelly Judkins
It is clear to me that the New Zealand funeral profession needs to be more proactive when it comes to the needs of clients and their perceptions of the environment. The profession also needs to become more educated and more aware of the environment and the effect a burial can have on it. Interestingly, as Dave Cathcart says, the so-called environmentally friendly Ònon-embalming optionÓ is perhaps not as environmentally friendly as most people would believe. In fact, embalming might actually save our water tables and land from the micro-organisms that can do them harm. Whatever the case, it remains imperative that funeral service in New Zealand upholds the dignity of the deceased, as it always has done. It is also imperative that in doing so, our communities are educated in every aspect of the service they require. It would appear that the eco-burial system and its supporters have a focus on the environment and will go to many lengths to keep the process of burial as natural as possible.
Embalmed bodies decay much more slowly and differently than others. This means that the release of embalming chemicals into the ecosystem is slow and in amounts too small to be a problem. A figure of 40mg per litre of groundwater per year is bandied around. This is a very small amount and even its claimants admit it is dubious. But this is not an amount that will do any harm. To many embalmers, the act of embalming is one that restores dignity and pride to the deceased. We have been doing that for centuries. Think of the early Maori, who recognised a need for preservation of the deceased, and of the Egyptians, who felt the need for reverance and preservation of the body for spiritual beliefs. We are aware of the psychological impact of a successful viewing, and that for many New Zealanders that is a solid platform from where grieving and healthy acceptance of the death may begin.
Funeral service in New Zealand is not by any means 'staid' or too set in tradition to not embrace some of the challenges that our communities will, in time, invariably set before us. Funeral service does evolve. Think of the funerals that occur on families' back lawns, in tents, and on beaches, and think of the music, the tributes, and even the vehicles that are used in services. The news media generally has not done funeral service any favors. It thrives on sensationalism and drives the emotional aspects of death, grief and dying to the hilt. The eco-burial sensation that has been taken up by some newspapers seems to be driven by people who may have done their homework on only one half of the debate Ð and they refuse to believe that funeral service has anything to offer.
But we do have a lot to offer.
Do-it-yourself is not so prevalent in our society that everyone will attempt the finer points of funeral service. This extends to the cultural awareness, and how embalming enables a tangi, or wake, to carry through without the lid going on a casket early. By the same token, we may also need to come out from behind our curtain a little and be prepared to educate our families (ever so gently) that we are prepared to help them in what they wish to achieve -- and that sometimes you can't believe everything you read in the newspapers.
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