Monday, May 18, 2009

Could You Stand to be Buried This Way?

Are you looking for a unique way to be buried with minimal impact on the environment and pocketbook? A new cemetery in Australia may just have the solution for you!

A company in Victoria, Australia has gotten approval to open a new cemetery at Darlington, which lies about 125 miles southwest of the Victorian capital Melbourne. The new cemetery, which is a first of its kind in Australia, will offer burials with minimal impact to the environment. The new residents of the cemetery will be buried standing up in biodegradable body bags without caskets or headstones. The land will continue to be used as grazing land to further lessen the environmental impact.

The no-fuss burial option is as easy on the wallet as it is on the land. Burials will cost A$1000, which is approximately US$780.

Bodies will be stored in a Melbourne morgue and relocated to the cemetery in groups of 15 to help keep costs to a minimum. With no ongoing costs for upkeep, the “green” burial option is much less expensive than a traditional burial or cremation.

Loved ones will still be able to identify the burial plots of the deceased via a chart on the fence, which tells where each resident is buried. The new cemetery is less expensive and more environmentally sound than traditional burials.