Become a diamond or get launched into space — here are 7 alternatives to traditional burial or cremation

When an individual dies, many individuals might consider the 2 most typical choices for the deceased individual’s physique: burial or cremation.

However for individuals who need to do one thing eco-friendly, comparable to human composting, or distinctive, like blasting their stays into orbit, extra choices have gotten obtainable and authorized.

And extra frequent: The Nationwide Funeral Administrators Assn. present in 2021 that 60.5% of its respondents mentioned they’re concerned with exploring inexperienced funeral choices due to their potential environmental advantages. A typical cremation can take half-hour to 2 hours, emitting carbon dioxide into the air the entire time. Conventional burial has its personal environmental impacts, together with contaminating soil with the chemical substances used on the physique (formaldehyde and different preservatives).

In California, the median value of an grownup funeral that features a viewing, ceremony and burial is $7,225, in line with the NFDA. The median value for cremation companies is $6,028.

Right here’s a rundown of a number of nontraditional, inexperienced or distinctive choices. (Observe that some religions — together with Catholicism, Islam and Judaism — prohibit what could be carried out with our bodies after dying. If that’s a consideration of yours, examine together with your religion chief earlier than making your remaining preparations.)

Human composting

An alternative choice to conventional burial and cremation coming to California in 2027 is pure natural discount, in any other case often known as human composting. (Final yr Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Meeting Invoice 351 into legislation, giving the state’s Cemetery and Funeral Bureau the inexperienced mild to develop laws for services providing the service.) Pure natural discount is already authorized in Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Vermont.

Human composting entails stays naturally decomposing over a 30- to 45-day interval after the physique is positioned in a metal vessel and coated with biodegradable supplies.

Recompose, which presents pure natural discount within the state of Washington, mentioned by means of its course of it makes use of 87% much less power than conventional burial or cremation — you’ll save one metric ton of carbon from getting into the surroundings, which is equal to the CO2 emissions of driving 2,421 miles.

It presents its companies for $7,000. The price consists of taking the physique to its services, reworking the physique into soil, authorized funeral paperwork, a web-based obituary and assist from the corporate’s companies crew.

Cremation by water

Alkaline hydrolysis, often known as water cremation, is a pure technique of decomposition that makes use of water to cremate the physique.

This course of makes use of water, alkaline chemical substances, warmth and generally stress and agitation to speed up pure decomposition, in line with the Cremation Assn. of North America. The tip result’s bone fragments and a liquid known as effluent. Effluent is sterile, that means no DNA or tissue stays, and the liquid could be launched down a drain.

California legalized water cremation in 2017, however it turned extra broadly identified when Desmond Tutu, the anti-apartheid chief and South African Anglican archbishop emeritus who died in December 2021, requested it.

A number of funeral houses in Los Angeles County provide the service, together with Commerce-based Pisces. Christopher Taktak, Pisces’ chief government, mentioned an answer that’s largely heat water takes about 4 hours to go away behind bone materials that individuals will inter or take residence.

Taktak mentioned his firm’s course of doesn’t launch dangerous emissions and makes use of 90% much less power than flame cremation.

Pisces’ companies value $3,850. That features pickup and transport of the physique, the water cremation, mailed return of ashes or scattering the ashes at sea and a home made Pisces urn.

Tree burial

Lowering your carbon footprint past your time on Earth may imply planting a tree together with your stays. Throughout the state, funeral houses and cemeteries provide memorial bushes the place cremains are combined with soil used to develop a tree on the cemetery grounds.

You is usually a everlasting a part of a tree’s life in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Perpetually’s Ancestral Forest Mission. Hollywood Perpetually permits cremains to be planted with the roots of a brand new tree or adjoining to an present tree of your alternative. With its Heritage Program, you will have your cremated stays positioned in an area adjoining to an present mature tree (cypress sentinels, California fan palms, redwoods and olive bushes) beginning at $6,600 — a portion of your fund shall be positioned into an endowment belief to make sure long-term care and upkeep of your dwelling memorial.

By way of the Memorial Tree program, a newly planted memorial tree can accommodate two units of cremated stays for $13,750.

In the event you’re on the lookout for a household choice, the Household Tree program accommodates the position of six units of cremated stays beginning at $27,500.

In 52 acres of the cemetery’s ancestral forest, you may select to be planted with reside oak, cypress, jacaranda, canary pine, palm or ginkgo bushes.

There may be additionally a San Francisco firm working to create conservation forests the place you may pay to make use of cremains to develop a memorial tree and likewise plant further new saplings in areas which were impacted by fires. Higher Place Forests has protected forest lands in Lake Arrowhead, Level Enviornment, Santa Cruz and Yosemite Gateway, and is slated to have an area within the Western Sierra quickly. The value is dependent upon the estimated remaining dimension of the memorial tree trunk and what number of further saplings you need planted. For instance, in case you select a 9-inch diameter trunk and 25 further saplings it’s going to value $4,900 — essentially the most economical bundle. The upper finish of the packages features a tree trunk that’s about 100 inches with a further 500 saplings planted, costing $16,900. Family and friends of the deceased can go to the labeled memorial tree and luxuriate in the remainder of the conserved forest.

Area ‘burial’

Not all of us can turn out to be astronauts on this life, however your cremains can. Human ashes can’t be scattered in house, although; the stays should be in a container.

Celestis, a Texas-based firm, first launched human ashes into house in 1997.

One choice the corporate presents is the “Earth rise service,” which launches flight capsules containing cremated stays and DNA samples to outer house — about 62 miles above Earth — for $2,995. The cremains then return to Earth. The corporate’s priciest providing, with a beginning value of $12,995, is the “voyager service,” wherein a portion of an individual’s stays board a business spacecraft, headed to house for different functions comparable to analysis, and the stays don’t return.

Burial at sea

Honoring a surfer or an avid boater may imply scattering their ashes at sea. There’s additionally the choice of a full-body burial or giving again to the ocean ecosystem by utilizing cremains to make a reef ball.

Los Angeles Yacht Constitution presents varied sea vessels for scattering ashes not less than three nautical miles off the coast. Costs for the service depend upon the departure location and visitor rely: For instance, a 50-foot yacht that holds 12 company and departs from Marina Del Rey prices $795. A ship that departs from Lengthy Seaside and holds as much as 125 company is $1,295.

In the event you’re on the lookout for a full-body burial service, Burial at Sea Southern California Coast presents its companies throughout the state. The burials are carried out with biodegradable caskets that break down within the ocean inside three to 6 months. The price of this service is dependent upon the variety of individuals viewing the service and the place the boat is departing from. For instance, if the boat is departing from San Pedro with 12 company on board, it’s estimated to be $775.

In order for you your physique to be part of coral reef restoration, your loved ones can use your cremains as a part of a reef ball. In accordance with the College of Miami, the Reef Ball Basis was initially established in 1993 to advertise coral reef restoration. Memorial service corporations accomplice with the inspiration to combine cremains with a selected concrete. What outcomes is a hole construction with holes, about 5 toes large and 5 toes tall, that sits on the seafloor making a marine habitat that helps fish and different sea life.

Ashes on the Sea in San Diego space presents the reef ball, often known as a dwelling reef memorial. Its costs vary from $600 to $4,000.

Donating your physique to science

Donating your entire physique to science means you’re taking part in an important position in a researcher’s work to enhance their understanding of ailments, the event of remedy and human anatomy. In the event you resolve to donate your physique to a selected college in California, you’re additionally supporting the schooling of medical college students.

College of California faculties every have particular donation applications.

Any grownup 18 years or older can register with a college’s program. Anybody can donate their physique except individuals with Creutzfeldt-Jakob illness, hepatitis B or C, HIV and lively tuberculosis.

As soon as the physique is accepted and studied, the stays are cremated and scattered at sea.

Memorialized in a diamond

Retaining a cherished one shut doesn’t must be restricted to an urn. As an alternative, their cremains could be was a household heirloom: a memorial diamond.

The sort of diamond is artificially created with the carbon extracted from cremains.

Los Angeles-based Coronary heart in Diamond turns cremation ashes or human or pet hair right into a diamond.

The corporate’s course of extracts carbon from cremated ashes by making use of excessive stress and excessive temperature. Then it locations a tiny diamond “seed” and the pure carbon right into a development chamber to type the diamond. The tough diamond is then reduce and polished to your specs.

Coronary heart in Diamond’s operation supervisor Anastasia Formenti mentioned the corporate presents 5 colours, however the actual shade shall be distinctive to an individual’s chemical make-up.

“It’s sort of a [surprise] in a means, that you simply’re nonetheless going to obtain a blue diamond, however whether or not it’s going to be [the color] of the guts of the ocean like in ‘Titanic’ or it’s going to be a lighter blue, that’s as much as the method itself,” Formenti mentioned.

The memorial diamond could possibly be used for a hoop or a necklace, for instance. Coronary heart in Diamond presents jewellery setting for rings, earrings and pendants at a further value.

Costs differ: A white, 1-carat diamond prices $17,295; a blue half-carat diamond prices $5,395. The value doesn’t embrace further companies comparable to engravings or Gemological Institute of America certifications.