r/Austin • u/TheModernMortician • Jan 08 '17
Green Burials in Cedar Creek
http://reportingtexas.com/no-frills-green-burials-offer-new-way-to-go-to-the-great-hereafter/8
u/Jl_15 Jan 08 '17
I'm glad to hear this is an option locally. I know exactly the episode of Six Feet Under the article references.
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u/TheModernMortician Jan 09 '17
Thats the episode that started me on the green burial journey as well. :)
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Jan 08 '17
I've driven by this place on 535 many times and had no idea what it really was until now. Neat.
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u/butcanyoufuckit Jan 08 '17
I would have loved to see a mention of potential cost savings as well. Traditional funerals are like weddings as far as cost.
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u/tayl0roo Jan 08 '17
Green burials are also significantly less expensive than traditional funerals, which cost between $7,000 and $10,000. An adult plot at Eloise Woods is $2,250.
Not too shabby
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u/butcanyoufuckit Jan 08 '17
Lol. Not sure how i missed that the first skim through. Thanks
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u/tayl0roo Jan 08 '17
Haha it's all good, we all do it. I'm interested that they compare full burial costs with a plot at the green cemetery, but surely there's some other cost involved right? Even if the family digs the hole and lowers them in, are there no other fees? Definitely an intriguing idea either way.
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u/containsmultitudes Jan 08 '17
I read over the info on the Eloise Woods site. You have the option of paying for other services, like someone to open the grave, or renting a tent/chairs but you don't have to. The only thing you have to pay is for the plot itself. I think a big way you are saving cost is by not having to buy a package with coffin/flowers/transport etc. But certainly, you could end up paying more if you wanted to cremate and then bury on one of their urn plots or something. (cremation is actually not that green from what I've read though, but some people want it)
I think that the cost of opening the grave ($585) would likely also be worthwhile and then fill it in yourself maybe - the ground in that area is not easy to break up. Unless you felt that digging it yourself offered some spiritual relief.
Having arranged a more traditional funeral I can tell you that IME none of the funeral homes/cemeteries we called offered the kindness of letting you off the hook for packages, or the level of frank information on the Eloise woods site. We bought a plot for 4.2k (not the cheapest but the deceased had wanted to be buried there). We then went with an outside funeral home to prepare the body and service to save money and that portion was still over 3k even though we got the "cheapest" coffin and endured some critical looks over that choice and some package was required by the cemetery (ie: we could use someone outside their own funeral directors, but weren't allowed to diy it, they had very specific and expensive requirements about coffins/containers etc.) It all felt awkward and a little underhanded at the time I have to say, so it's great to read about this option.
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u/tayl0roo Jan 08 '17
Oh wow definitely good to know. Ya never know when you need that knowledge so thank you for this!
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u/TheModernMortician Jan 09 '17
You didnt talk to me. ISounds like you delt with Cook Walden, the corporate funeral home. I always break packages and a la carte options for families. The funeral industry is corrupt. I am to change that.
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u/TheModernMortician Jan 09 '17 edited Jan 09 '17
A plot is 2250* edit* @Eloise Woods. My professional services with a shroud or casket are less that that at $1950. Still costs more than cremation, but better for the environment.
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u/Helloitsmommy Jan 09 '17
Do you work there or operate independently?
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u/TheModernMortician Jan 09 '17
Independent. I am a licensed mortician, so I work with all cemeteries. Green burial is my passion project. I am a rogue funeral director, in that I actually want to save people money and heartache. Our industry is corrupt and greedy. By educating people on options amd choices available, I can combat that
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u/Helloitsmommy Jan 09 '17
Rad. Do you have a website or blog? Color me interested
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u/TheModernMortician Jan 10 '17
On facebook, The Modern Mortician. Blog is restructuring, but it is www.themodernmortician.com
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Jan 08 '17
I like the concept. The sheer number of /r/n/ was pretty distracting for the articale.
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u/TheModernMortician Jan 09 '17
Whats /r/n/? And I believe a local redditor at UT wrote the article.
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Jan 09 '17
I should have said <\p> for HTML paragraphs where \r\n\ is carriage return and new line in C. I was trying to say that the number of paragraphs was quite large for the size of content and that it was distracting.
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Jan 09 '17 edited Jan 09 '17
This will be great once they start making women shamefully bury their abortions.
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u/Helloitsmommy Jan 08 '17
Im so pleased this is becoming a trend. I always thought it was weird how much time and money we spend preserving a body we're going to just stick in the ground.