Green Cemetery Nixed After Neighbors See Red | Perfect Memorials Funeral and Cremation Blog

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Green Cemetery Nixed After Neighbors See Red
Green cemeteries may be the way of the future, but at least one Georgia community isn’t jumping on the bandwagon. Macon-Bibb County commissioners recently turned thumbs down on a proposal to develop a “natural” cemetery – i.e., one without embalming, coffins or vaults.

Elizabeth Collins – the self-described “renaissance woman” behind the green cemetery plan – sought to provide a burial alternative for people who object to the use of embalming fluid, sealed caskets and concrete vaults for economic, environmental or religious reasons. Along with her business partner, James Wood, Collins purchased 58 acres of wooded land for the project, and last April, the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the land for use as a cemetery.

When residents of the rural, socially conservative community in central Georgia learned of the plan, however, they raised fierce objections, citing concerns about water supply contamination and “unconventional” burial practices.

Collins countered objections by explaining that the graves would be too far away from the aquifer to threaten the water supply. Advocates of green cemeteries claim that, in fact, traditional burials have a far more negative impact on the environment than natural burials.

In spite of such assurances and concessions offered by Collins, county commissioners killed the proposed cemetery project in November when they enacted a new ordinance mandating a “leak-proof casket or vault” for burials. Still, Collins says she’s not giving up, but will continue to try to win over the locals.