I am a long time customer of Collective Resource, Inc an Evanston, IL based company that picks up one's food waste, making compost, and diverting from landfill. A recent blog include the following, apropos of our recent discussions:
"Cradle to Grave is another way of describing a linear economy. Linear and circular economies are opposites. The linear economy has gotten us into the trouble we’re in, for we have too many products that cannot be easily disposed of. I know I said that I’d write about circular economies this month, but then this happened:
Earlier this week I heard a fascinating program on NPR called 1A with this topic: Natural Causes: Why Some Are Choosing An Eco-Friendly End Of Life. Spoiler alert: There’s a funeral home named Recompose in the state of Washington that has developed a way to compost human remains! The process that they are calling natural organic reduction has a smaller carbon footprint compared to both embalming, which uses toxic chemicals, and cremation which emits carbon dioxide and other pollutants. It’s also slightly less expensive than the average burial. I found an article on Gizmodo about the company if you prefer reading to listening.
Green Death Movement
Composting is not the only green burial option. You might find the Green Burial Council to be a helpful resource in finding alternatives.
I remember hearing a joke once about dying being the best way to lower your carbon footprint."
author Mary Beth Schaye, Zero Waste Consultant, Collective Resource, Inc