Going Green To The Grave Isn't Easy In The Queen City

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by Kirk Hawkins
Bio | Email | Follow: @kirkhawkins

Story Created: Oct 9, 2012 at 9:04 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 12, 2012 at 7:20 AM EDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--From the way they prepare the body. To the casket. Everything, including the urn, can be environmentally friendly. Green funerals are one growing segment of a 12-billion-dollar industry. Some of the green options were on display this week at the Charlotte Convention Center as part of the National Funeral Director's Association. "I think a lot of people don't want the funeral their parents had. They want something unique," said Darren Crouch of Passages International.

While green options might be available, some funeral directors say ending your life in an environmentally friendly way isn't easy in the Queen City. "I think a lot of this is hype it became a way of marketing for some people," said Carolina Funeral & Cremation Center's Steven Kuzma.

Tight cemetery restrictions on how caskets have to be buried and a lack of legislation at the state level are the reasons why you can't complete the green burial process in the Charlotte area. "Even though we all want to protect the environment. We want some of our comforts. But we aren't easy to let the traditional values we grew up with leave us yet," said Kuzma.

There are two certified green cemeteries in North Carolina and one in South Carolina. But, none in Charlotte.

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