WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BURIAL?
The traditional earth burial is not the only way to commemorate the life and death of a deceased loved one. If you are interested in other ways to bury your loved one, or if you are pre-planning your funeral and wish to consider alternative options, here are a few different types of burial.
Traditional In-Ground Burial
First, we’ll discuss what’s involved in a traditional in-ground burial. You will have a casket that displays and contains the deceased (Explore our range). You will also have a gravesite, a memorial tribute, and a vault, which is a concrete enclosure that forms the protective lining of the casket. A traditional burial allows the deceased to be memorialised, often next to loved ones. This often makes it easier to visit the deceased to lay flowers, remember them and mourn them.
Natural Burials
Natural burials are a return to older, simpler ways that are making a comeback. This type of burial doesn’t include embalming or concrete vaults that line the graves. Instead, the bodies are wrapped in a shroud or placed in a biodegradable casket so that they can decompose naturally. It’s a romantic idea that allows the body to rejoin the cycle of life by going back to the earth.
Tree Burial
Many people love the idea of being buried privately under their favourite tree.
While the idea is still in the works, in the near future there will be the option of putting the body of the deceased into an organic, biodegradable burial pod that turns the person’s remains into nutrients for a tree that grows above them. The overall goal of this movement is to create a cemetery of trees or “memory forests” instead of tombstones. It works by putting the body in the foetal position to fit into the egg-shaped pod.
The pod is then buried and a young tree or a seed is planted above the pod so they become rooted together.
Burial at Sea
Australians are known for their love of the ocean. Therefore, it is not surprising that many private citizens may choose a burial at sea, which involves the disposal of human remains in the ocean from a ship or a boat. Burial at sea ceremonies can be rather beautiful.
Within Australian territorial waters, burial at sea is covered by the Environmental Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981, which is administered by the Federal Department of the Environment. You would need a permit to bury a body at sea and these are usually only granted if the deceased has strong ties to the sea. For this type of burial, the body must not be placed in a casket or embalmed – it must instead be sewn into a weighted shroud. The burial can only happen in water deeper than 2,000 metres and must not interfere with shipping or fishing.
Funeral Services in Perth
Allow Hetherington Funerals in Perth to assist you with our funeral planning service. No matter what type of burial you choose, we will do our best to accommodate you and help you serve the memory of your deceased loved one well. Please contact us today for more information.