Abstract:

One of today’s world’s biggest issues is the impact that various industries have on the environment. In the face of a constantly growing demand for different products, every industry should be concerned about its effect on the natural ecosystem. One of many industry branches facing this dilemma that could benefit from more eco-conscious solutions, is the funeral industry. This is all the more important as the practice of burying the dead has been an inevitable part of human societies since the very beginning.
Usually the funeral industry is using coffins, caskets or urns made of various types of materials, for example: different types of wood (beech, ash, pine, oak), metal (ordinary steel, stainless steel or even chrome steel), composite materials in a variety of types (resin mass, ordinary polyethylene, polypropylene, nacre or mixed types of plastic elements). In terms of coffins, caskets and urns current manufacturing methods use different types of varnishes, paints and stains – usually water or solvent based. These types of coatings can contain chemical compounds damaging to the environment that could have a huge negative impact on natural groundwater, soil and other parts of the ecosystem, as well as a harmful effect on human and animal health and lives as a result. In these circumstances, the manufacturers and business owners should do everything they can, and look for every possible way to neutralize the harmful influence of this industry on our planet’s natural environment.