How sustainable are nature cemeteries? – RTV Drenthe

According to him, this is partly because a third natural cemetery was added in Drenthe last year. In total there are almost thirty in the Netherlands.

With the rise in popularity of natural cemeteries, there are also increasing concerns about the consequences of natural burial. For example, in 2014, the website natuurbegraafplaats-waaromniet.nl was set up, where arguments against natural burials are raised. The concerns are mainly about the impact of this relatively new form of burial on the environment. How well-founded are these concerns about the sustainability of natural cemeteries?

Drenthe currently has three natural cemeteries: Hillig Meer in Eext, De Velden in Zuidvelde, and Mepperdennen in Meppen. Alice Reukema, site manager of the latter site, indicates that nature cemeteries have a positive influence on nature.

Natural cemeteries are often created in an existing nature reserve, and the income from the burials goes to funds to maintain the nature reserve. This is also the case at Mepperdennen, which was built in an existing forest. “You help nature, because you develop the area,” says Reukema. Thinning, for example, gives the undergrowth the opportunity to grow again. “All kinds of animals benefit, you help biodiversity,” she says.

However, this does not reassure all critics: natural cemeteries guarantee eternal burial, while each grave only generates a one-time income. Temporary pleasures, therefore, and eternal burdens. How is that resolved?

Reukema explains that this has been well thought out. The Mepperdennen nature cemetery is part of the Heidehof foundation. This foundation has established a nature fund, in which a part of the income from each grave is deposited. In this way they ensure that money remains available to maintain the cemetery. Moreover, they take care of the forest, but they do not have to worry about the graves themselves. “Once someone is buried, we don’t touch them anymore,” Reukema says. “Nature takes care of the body and the grave.” The maintenance costs are therefore also relatively low.

In addition, the nature cemetery uses guidelines that guarantee that no substances enter the soil that do not belong there. For example, the deceased must wear clothing made of untreated, natural fabric. So wool, silk, linen, and jute, but no nylon, polyester, or fleece. Dentures and pacemakers also do not go into the ground. “New knees and hips don’t have to be removed, of course,” says Reukema.

Do such prostheses cause no damage to the soil? Professor of ecology Han Olff of the University of Groningen thinks that’s not too bad. The substances in our body are also present in trees and plants, except for metals such as lead. However, “anything that is toxic to nature is also toxic to us,” he says. The substances in our body that have the potential to be harmful to nature are present in very small amounts. So there is no immediate reason to be concerned about this. “We have much bigger problems for the soil than the substances that get there through the burial of the human body,” he adds. For example, dioxin, which is released during waste incineration, industry and the combustion of unleaded petrol, among other things, also settles on the soil, as does nitrogen.

Medicine residues also often end up in nature without being buried there. For example, the hormones from contraceptives. These end up in the sewage water via urine, which in turn ends up in nature and causes damage to aquatic ecosystems. “This worries me much more than substances that end up in the soil when they die,” says Olff.

In terms of sustainability, cremation may be a better idea, thinks Olff. This is because the organic compounds disappear during combustion, which prevents potentially harmful substances from ending up in the soil. Even if you then bury or scatter the ashes in nature. But metals, such as fillings in molars, do not burn. However, as mentioned before, these are such small quantities that they probably do not affect nature. In addition, Olff mentions that you do create a new function for nature by creating natural cemeteries, so that nature can be protected and maintained, as Reukema already indicated.

Both Olff and Reukema therefore see no major objections to natural cemeteries when it comes to sustainability. In fact, Reukema emphasizes the positive impact of nature cemeteries on nature, especially with regard to safeguarding the maintenance and survival of natural areas. Olff also emphasizes the potential of nature cemeteries for nature conservation.

“Nature always comes first,” says Reukema. “Suppose someone says: I want to be buried there, but then that tree has to go, then we won’t do that.” The Mepperdennen area is therefore never locked. In addition to visiting graves, it is also used as a walking area. “I’ve seen someone read a book for hours by a grave,” she says. “It’s still just a really nice forest.”