Of all the strange ways to get buried in this world, the western tradition of burial may be the most bizarre. As opposed to many of the funeral rites observed elsewhere, our form of traditional burial – with its embalming fluids, caskets, liners, vaults and tombs – aims to preserve the body for as long as possible, with the express purpose, it would seem, of not returning it to nature. No ashes to ashes, dust to dust for a body pumped with formaldehyde and housed in a metal casket.

 

Yet traditional burial seems to be a trend in decline; natural burials are on the rise, and 41 percent of Americans are now opting for cremation, a process considered “all but taboo” 50 years ago. And with this increase in cremations, there is a whole new array of services to deal with the cremation remains.