Hamilton Municipal Cemeteries to offer natural burial option

Hamilton Municipal Cemeteries has opened a natural burial section at one of its cemeteries to allow residents to bury loved ones without a damaging impact on the environment.

The section at the Mount Hamilton Cemetery will allow for burial to be done without the embalming process that utilizes chemicals known to be toxic to the environment.

This new process will also use a casket made of biodegradable materials.

Here, each person will be buried in their own, individually plotted gravesite, but grave markers will not be used. Instead, a central memorialization will be at the site for all those buried there.

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Over time, the area will be planted with natural vegetation to encourage the return of a natural ecological state and pathways will be added to allow visitors to walk through, reflect and remember.

An open house event for the site was held on Saturday and while plots cannot be purchased quite yet, those interested can add their name to the waitlist.

There are currently 10 natural burial sites available in Ontario, including at St John’s Cemetery in Jordan Station and the Fairview Cemetery in Niagara Falls.

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