Greener Ways to the Great Beyond

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Death Certificates. A death certificate stating the cause of death and signed by a doctor must be filed, usually in the county or district where death occurs, where a body is found, or where a body is removed from a public conveyance or vehicle. This must usually be accomplished before other permits are granted or before final disposition.

Embalming. No state requires routine embalming of all bodies. Refrigeration or dry ice can substitute for embalming in most instances. Special circumstances such as extended time between death and disposition can necessitate embalming under state law. Interstate transportation by a common carrier also may require it.

Burial permits. In some states, when burial will be outside the county or town where death occurred, you will need an additional permit to inter from the local registrar in that area. In many states, the top of the coffin must be at least 3 feet below the soil surface. A burial location should be 150 feet or more from a water supply and outside the utility or power line easements.

Moving a body. Never move a body without having a permit or medical permission in hand!

Cremation. A special permit-to-cremate may be needed; these are available from the local coroner or medical examiner, and a modest fee is usually charged.

Join the Experts Online

Learn more about green burials and home funerals, and chat with guest experts Dr. Billy and Kimberley Campbell, Lisa Carlson, John Wilkerson, Mary Woodsen and Jerri Lyons on the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Web site at www.motherearthnews.com/forums/

EACH YEAR IN THE U.S. we bury:

827,060 gallons of embalming fluid, which includes formaldehyde 180,544,000 pounds of steel, in caskets 5,400,000 pounds of copper and bronze, in caskets 30 million board feet of hardwoods, including tropical woods, in caskets 3,272,000,000 pounds of reinforced concrete in vaults 28,000,000 pounds of steel in vaults

Statistics compiled by Mary Woodsen, vice president of the Pre-Posthumous Society of Ithaca, New York, and a science writer at Comell University.

For More Information

Funeral Consumers Alliance.
Lisa Carlson; 33 Patchen Road;
South Burlington, VT 05403;
(800) 765-0107

Final Passages. Jerri Lyons; PO.
Box 1721; Sebastopol, CA 95473;
(707) 824-0268

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