For the grieving families of departed souls, funeral ceremonies are a way to mourn their loss. While the related laws are essential to keep and maintain overall health codes and the like, the family should decide the burial method according to their own customs, traditions, and beliefs. 

Due to the lack of space in cemeteries and rapid urbanization, many people believe that traditional burials are antiquated and there should be more alternate burial and resting methods. While nobody denies the need for alternative methods, objecting to traditional burials is a bit drastic.

Christians, Muslims, and Jews believe in traditional cemetery burials, and deliberate attempts to squash their beliefs are a biased and discriminatory approach. 

Traditional burials are already quite expensive, costing upwards of $10,000 in Washington. The option of raising costs to detract from conventional burials isn’t fair. 

The alternate methods that many advocates for are cremation and body composting. However, if the opposition to traditional burial is due to environmental concerns, it is essential to consider the climate implications of cremation. 

Cremation ceremonies produce tons of carbon emissions, air pollution, greenhouse gases, and chemical toxins from mercury dental fillings. These toxins end up in food sources and air, resulting in many health issues. Therefore, both traditional burial and cremation methods have environmental implications.

Discouraging traditional burials by increasing costs and taxes will negatively affect many communities that rely solely on burial. If the state is interested in green burials, then Washington should eliminate the embalming procedure, increasing the formaldehyde concentration in the ground. There is nothing inherently wrong with burials. The problem with the method is that it adds substances that leach into the soil from embalmed bodies and polished caskets. 

Instead of increasing burial costs to the public, the state should promote sustainable burial practices. Eco-friendly burials would include biodegradable caskets and would not require embalming procedures. 

Traditional burials should remain an option unless the state wants to ignore people’s right to freedom. Abrahamic religions have always followed traditional burials, and this method is demonized for all the wrong reasons. There are many possible solutions to the environmental issue.

There are many solutions, such as leasing the graveyards to families to cut costs on cemetery maintenance, setting up more green burial sites such as White Eagle Memorial Preserve in Southern Washington, and eco-friendly burial practices. However, raising prices to deter people from traditional burials is flawed.