Probably one of the first Christmas cracker jokes I can remember - "What do you call a cemetery?"
"The dead center of town" Boom! Tish!
I know that was bad, please disregard and read on.
The idea of a burial is less appealing these days, with 70% of Australians prefering the idea of cremation, mainly because it is less expensive. A whole "box and dice" burial is just south of $20K, this does not include funeral costs.
However a cremation uses a minimum of 40L of fuel per person, so for those that are doing their bit for the environment seems a bit excessive.
With the current death rate of 180K increasing to 402K in the next 15 years, we need to make some decisions around what we would like done with our bodies. Things are getting so crowded in some places, they are removing headstones and burying people between preexisting graves.
There is an increase in the alternatives, including Aquamation and Green/Natural Burials. If you had a "relationship" with the sea, that is you worked or lived on boats, you may have grounds for a water burial. The family of the deceased need to write and pay to submit an application which is assessed and approved by EPA.
I like the idea of returning to the earth, being something that can nourish and feed the environment. I spoke with someone recently who said they'd "like to have a mango tree planted with their body, so that the family could enjoy the fruit for generations to come".
In Italy some very clever people have developed these composting tree pods, but they are neither permitted in Italy or in Australia and only in the US. Hope I'm still bouncing around when this is approved, I'd definitely choose something native but a little bit fancy - like a Finger Lime or Davidson Plum tree.
I guess all I'm saying is there are more than two options and they are worth digging into (pardon the pun).
Adios Amigos!!
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