Going Green

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Just in time for Earth Day, what's old is new in the funeral industry.

A grassroots movement is beginning to grow interest in home funerals and green burials.

Supporters of the movement say it's eco-friendly - and you can save thousands of dollars.

Allegheny Cemetery opened its handsome wrought iron gates just off Butler Street in 1844.

One of the country's first rural cemeteries it was meant to be a place where people could come to mourn, bring family picnics, or just sit in solitude with the dead in a park-like setting.

During the Civil War, embalming began so that bodies could be sent home to loved ones.

"And soon it became the common practice for everyone to be embalmed and then it began to move out of the home and into the funeral home," says Rev. Lynn Acquafondata.

Rev. Acquafondata wants to change that. A Unitarian-Universalist minister, she is part of the growing trend offering families the option having home-based funeral services.

"With a home funeral, the family, it's the next of kin who is in charge from the time the person dies until they're buried," she explained.

Just as was done more than a century ago, wakes were held at home - often in the family parlor.

"It's totally environmentally friendly - there's no embalming - it's uses all natural products," Acquafondata said.

As an end-of-life guide, Rev. Acquafondata helps the family through the process.

"They are going to wash and dress and layout the body of their loved one," she said.

But the minister recognizes that a home funeral is not for everyone.

"People are afraid of death and want to keep it at arms length," she said.

At the Pittsburgh Institute for Mortuary Science, Pete McQuillen introduces future funeral directors to the concept of green burials.

"No embalming at all, it means a biodegradable casket, if one's used at all, it may be just a burial shroud," he said.

The funeral industry is tackling green burials head on.

"Some are still fighting it, but I think a number of cemeteries in Allegheny County are talking about adding a green section," McQuillen said.

Apart from cemeteries, McQuillen wants to create a woodland conservation burial ground in Allegheny County.

People would buy green burial plots to raise funds to keep the land undeveloped.

Graves would have natural markers like a tree or stone - or could be located by GPS.

"I've got a mailing list of 300 people who said they want to sign up," he said.

Both home funerals and green burials are legal in Pennsylvania. Dry ice is required to preserve the body over 24 hours.

A family can arrange for a death certificate themselves. It must be signed by a doctor, registered nurse, a family member or funeral director. Two signatures are needed.

Paper work and transportation of the body may be better left to a funeral director for a fee.

Considering that the average cost of a funeral today is $7,000, eco-friendly funerals are far less expensive at between $2,000 and $3,000.

"It's much less expensive especially at this time with the shaky economy," Acquafondata said.

The mortuary students recognize that in a service industry such as theirs, they'll have to master all options.

"I know that Pittsburgh hasn't embraced it fully yet but it's somewhere the down the road I think that people are going to be doing this."

Pat McQuillen says that two area cemeteries - one in Acme, Westmoreland County, and another in Monroeville are open to the idea of green burials.

Learn More About Green Burials & Home Funerals:

 GreenBurialPittsburgh.org
 GreenBurials.org
 FinalJourneyHome.com

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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