The typical burial in North America costs about $10,000. The sad reality of this absurd price is that the surviving family members are often too grief-stricken, stressed, and constrained by time to shop around for better options.

In addition to losing a loved one, two other significant challenges arise:

1. Families often don’t have $10,000 readily available for funeral arrangements, leading many to go into debt.
2. Traditional burials cause extensive damage to the environment. They consume massive amounts of quality wood, concrete, metals, and millions of gallons of carcinogenic embalming fluid.

Imagine your environmentally conscious aunt. It would be disturbing to think that her last interaction with the planet would contribute to pollution.

The Environmental Impact of Traditional Burials

Polluting Practices:

• Use of hardwood, metal, and concrete vaults.
• Gallons of toxic, carcinogenic embalming fluid.
• Disposal of blood into the water system.
• Extensive land usage for cemeteries.
• Maintenance of manicured cemetery grass, which requires hundreds of hours of labor, polluting machinery, and chemical fertilizers.

Expenses Related to a Burial:
Basic Fees:

• Funeral planning
• Permits and copies of death certificates
• Preparation of notices
• Sheltering the body
• Coordination with the cemetery, cremation, or other parties

Optional Services and Merchandise:

• Transportation: You can use your own vehicle.
• Embalming and other preparations: Embalming fluids are carcinogenic and unnecessary. Skipping this service can save hundreds of dollars.
• Use of funeral home for viewing: Consider other venues or forego this entirely.
• Caskets: The average casket costs just over $2,000, but luxury options like mahogany, bronze, or copper can reach $10,000. Less expensive pine caskets are available, though funeral homes often avoid displaying them. You can purchase affordable options from Costco, Amazon, or Walmart.
• Casket rental: If cremation is chosen, you can rent a casket instead of buying one.

Environmentally Friendly Alternatives

Natural Burial: A burial method that allows the body to decompose naturally. Unfortunately, natural burials are not yet allowed in Quebec but are permitted in other Canadian provinces and certain U.S. states.

Highlights from the Interview:

Elizabeth Fournier, also known as the “Green Reaper,” has worked in the funeral industry for 28 years.

• She began her career as a funeral director and eventually opened her own funeral home, Cornerstone Funeral Services, in Boring, Oregon.
• She was once a ballroom dance instructor (like me! 😊).
• During her childhood, Elizabeth experienced the deaths of many family members and became familiar with funeral procedures. As an adult, friends sought her advice when their loved ones passed away.

Elizabeth notes that most people are unprepared for the high costs of death.

• Many individuals live paycheck to paycheck, struggle through the expensive pre-death period, and are shocked by the final costs.
• “It’s free to be born, but it’s not free to die.”
• Unlike weddings or childbirth, death often comes without financial preparation, leaving families to cover immediate expenses.

Natural burials were standard until about 150 years ago. Embalming became popular during the U.S. Civil War to preserve bodies being transported to families.

Elizabeth Fournier’s Book: The Green Burial Guidebook

This step-by-step guide covers:

• How to plan a green burial.
• Basics of home funerals.
• Legal guidelines for burials.
• How to save significant money during the process.

Additional Resources:

• How to donate your organs in Quebec.
• How to donate your body to science in Quebec (Note: If you do this, burial expenses are covered by the university or hospital that receives your body).

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Financial Assistance for Funerals in Canada

• Quebec offers a death benefit of $2,500.
• Canada also provides a national death benefit of $2,500.

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