How to Die an Eco-Friendly Person

Dying: Make It Green + Personal

Photo by Alex Eckermann on Unsplash

IMAGINE having a way to delete all the voice messages from Mother Nature saying she is disappointed in you.

Like telling your Catholic priest all your sins in a dark, musty corner of church at reconciliation. The priest tells you: I absolve ALL the times you bought single use plastic. Even that deserved 711 blue raspberry slushie you had after a long, arduous run.

Your guilty conscience says AMEN to that.

While I know there must be a priest that loves blue raspberry slushies like you and I, I know there is no magic wand to make you a holy tree hugger when you kick the bucket. Maybe if Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental activist, knighted you pre-death.

What I will do is share the closest solution I know to a more eco-friendly death.

AQUAMATION: MOST LIKELY ENDORSED BY AQUAMAN

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Aquamation is the most fun way to say it. The scientific name is Alkaline Hydrolysis.

During aquamation, the body is placed in a stainless steel vessel and filled with 95 percent water and 5 percent potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide. The body would dissolve in the earth or a stream in the same way except this process takes 20 hours in the aquamation pod versus what would take months in nature.

After 20 hours, one’s skeleton becomes ground-up white powder. Your loved ones can scatter your remains like ashes or place them in a biodegradable urn.

Why is it eco-friendly?

The process generates about a fifth of the carbon dioxide and 10% of the energy compared to a traditional cremation. Aquamation services are currently legal in 19 of the 50 states. If you want to check if it’s available in your state, click here .

Other eco-friendly burials involve mushrooms, the sky, and the sea.

Before you leave, I have one last rant about death for you:

Often when we think about death we think about fear and misunderstanding when what we truly want most is to understand and connect to each other about it. Have an open conversation about death with your loved ones — you aren’t weird and morbid, I promise.

In fact, it is a gift to your family and friends because they will know how to make your death more personal and positive, including helping Mother Nature.