I’ve never really considered death as something that could have a negative impact on our environment. It’s just organic matter returning to its roots, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, one of the most natural processes out there, right?

Well, for the most part, it has been, at least until the adoption of today’s modern death rituals. Now, we embalm with formaldehyde-based solution, bury concrete vaults, and use resin-treated hardwood and chipboard to make coffins. In cremations, formaldehyde, resin, and greenhouse gases are just released into the air, rather than into the ground. With every death, we’re adding a little pollution to our environment and, with almost 7 billion people on the planet, there are lots of people dying. Some stats: Annually, we bury 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete, 827,060 tons of toxic embalming fluid, and 30 million tons of hardwood from caskets. Well, when you put it that way…

For those who would be interested in leaving a more environmentally friendly legacy, there are, as I recently discovered, some options. Eternal Reefs, Inc., for one, uses a mixture of cremated remains and environmentally safe cement to create artificial reefs to memorialize the deceased and provide a home for marine life. A personalized brass plaque marks each reef, so they can be identified during underwater visits. Great Burial Reef (they win the clever name contest) is a similar company that will seal urns of cremated remains permanently within hollow, pre-placed, pre-selected, natural concrete reef units also designed to promote the growth of marine life. The units are clustered off the coast of Sarasota, Florida and, together, make up the “Great Burial Reef”. That’d be one eerie scuba excursion.

There are also options for the more terrestrial folk among us. For example, Creative Coffins makes environmentally sympathetic and certified non-toxic carton-board coffins, each made from unbleached pulp containing at least 60% recycled paper and wood pulp sourced from sustainable forests, suitable for both burials and cremations. As disturbing as it may sound, I think these guys are particularly entertaining, even funny. If you visit their website, which is definitely worth doing, you’ll see what I mean. They say it themselves: “…from the dignified and beautiful to the quirky and humorous.” I find the prospect of being sent off in a six-foot bottle of red wine (which can be viewed in the “Pastimes” category on the website – hilarious) is oddly appealing.

I don’t necessarily have an opinion regarding whether people should opt for a green burial over a traditional one, because death is a difficult and sacred thing. Our desire for a traditional departure or goodbye transcends the desire to do our green deed of the day and, I think, If there’s ever a time to let our green behavior fall by the wayside, the loss of a loved one is probably it. So, when it comes to death, I think it’s reasonable to make considerations other than the effect of coffin resin or something. But for some, maybe going out on a green note is the more dignified way to go anyway. Who knows? The choice is for the individual. Frankly, I’m not sure if I’ll go in a green way or not……but I’ll consider it…

In any case, the options are out there.

For the most part, plastic claims one of the top spots on Mother Nature’s sh*t list. It’s light, cheap, durable, and incredibly useful, but it has a horrible impact on our environment. Plastic bottles, plastic bags, just about anything plastic, kills wildlife, poisons water, pollutes habitats, and/or chokes landfills. Plus, it’s made from non-renewable resources (petroleum, for example) and lasts virtually forever. No one knows exactly how long (I’ve seen estimates of a simple plastic soda bottle’s lifespan to be anywhere from 450 years to, literally, “forever’), but it’s clearly long enough to prove that our problems with plastic accumulation are just getting started.

Recently, however, while visiting Chicago Booth business school earlier this month, I stumbled across a glimmer of hope. In an attempt to avoid the obscene Chicago cold (yes, Charlotte has spoiled me), I sought refuge in a small cafeteria in one of Booth’s main buildings, the Harper Center. After deciding to grab a[nother] quick breakfast, I noticed a row of plastic water bottles featured in rows under each cashier counter. Upon further inspection, I found the bottles were sold by a company called Green Planet Bottling and were, apparently, biodegradable. I also soon discovered that the cafeteria had transitioned to biodegradable plastic utensils (not sure if these were the ones at Booth), made of natural materials like corn and potato starch, as well. Gotta give credit to Booth for their commitment to the environment.

Intrigued, I researched further, and it turns out there are quite a number of companies producing or selling biodegradable/compostable plastic materials. To name a few, Nat-Ur (check out Cereplast), Earthware Biodegradables, Biota (has a time-lapse video), and Eco-Products. A Google search will yield you many results. Most are compostable/recyclable, are made from renewable resources, will burn clean, and use less fossil fuel in production than do petroleum-based plastics. Good stuff, so far. Not surprisingly, however, although they represent an important step in the right direction, these biodegradable plastics are not a miracle cure to all our plastic problems. They all vary slightly, but one constant remains: you can’t just toss any of them out your car window and expect them to turn into a flower and a bunny rabbit a week later.

As far as I can tell, they all need to go through some form of “commercial” composting process, which exposes them to a combination of consistent high temperatures (~110-150 degrees F), micro-organisms, and moisture, a process that may not always be available. Under ideal circumstances, they take a minimum of about 80 days to decompose and much longer under imperfect conditions. There’s also apparently some controversy around the impact of clearing land that may be needed to grow the crops that will eventually be used to produce the plastics. Some even believe that, since our landfills are packed so tightly, bio-plastics that end up in the landfills, rather than in the proper recycling/composting facilities, could biodegrade anaerobically (without oxygen) and produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

To me, it seems the benefits far outweigh the costs, and one can only hope this trend continues to spread and the technology continues to improve, phasing out the negative trade-offs. In the meantime, though, one thing remains clear: the best way to reduce the impact of plastic on our environment is to simply minimize purchases of disposable plastic items and, if you have no choice, reuse as much as humanly possible, then recycle.