It’s not often we like to think of death, but it’s facing everyone of the 7+ Billion folks on this planet at some future time. And being Eco aware, Zero Wasters would like to find the best ecological manner to exit this state of being. Of all the options open to us, one environmentally friendly way to deal with it comes from a game -changing Eco innovation from EcoLegacy which we’ve recently come across.
It embodies the circular economy on a personal level. Birth, life, death, re-birth. Just like the recycling and re-work approach, if we consider our mortal remains we would like it to be recycled in the most eco-friendly manner. What better way than, as the circle of life goes through its stages, to reduce our remains back to its basic elements and use these elements to create new life in the form of a living plant that our nearest and dearest can see and touch.
The EcoLegacy approach is just this. With 7 + Billion people on the planet, we’re all going to pass away in the next 70 or so years and face a burial or cremation. Burial is unsustainable because we’re running out of land in Urban areas, but the alternative, cremation, has environmental drawbacks. The average cremation uses a lot of energy (natural gas, electricity)and emits over 160 kg of CO² (depending on the equipment used). As is the case of Incinerators, it’s a source of dioxins, smoke, ash and mercury pollution.
Now the EcoLegacy company has a sustainable, third alternative, to take care of our departed that they call – the ecoLation™ process.
Still in its early stages of adoption, ecoLation™ is a 4-step process that returns the loved one’s remains to their families as calcium and carbon powder, in a biodegradable urn. The process used is environmentally friendly and non-polluting, unlike Cremation. The Urn has a hollow spot in the cover in which to place a tree seed. Families can then plant the urn and seed, thus having a tree as a living reminder of their departed. It’s a living reminder of the departed and will breathe new life into our planet.
It’s a nice thought to think of your departed playing a role in fighting climate change long after their passing. As the circle of life closes, it reopens anew.