What is Used Instead of Wood for Cremation?

Here are a few alternatives to use instead of wood for cremation

• Cow dung logs 
• Electrical cremation 
• Biomass briquettes 
• Coconut shell powder

The cremation service at Anthyesti is a highly personal and sensitive ceremony, which is very understandable. One may take each step as per their cultural traditions concerning their rituals. While we take care that all services provided will be according to your preference and priority.

Hindu cremation services use firewood for the cremation process. According to the statistics at Anthyesti, the wood used for cremation requires about 4 lakh trees in one city. However, the number is enormous and increasing daily, affecting the environment and trees and leading to air pollution.

You will find in detail how these options are safe, eco-friendly, and pollution-free. 

Cow dung logs

Cow dung logs will now be used instead of wooden logs for the cremation of bodies, reducing deforestation and the percentage of pollutants in the air and converting harmful gas like methane into burning fuel. An excellent benefit for air pollution is replacing firewood with cow dung. Another advantage of using cow dung logs is that they are cost-effective compared to firewood, and you will have to pay less if you go for an eco-friendly process.

We always keep in mind your rituals and traditions performed at the center and work accordingly. Hence, the cow is a sacred animal per the Hindu tradition; using gobar and gokashta is always propitious. Using cow dung is considered an auspicious way of cremating bodies.

Electrical cremation 

Electrical cremation consists of:

• Moveable trolley 
• Furnace 
• Gas cleaning system
• Chimney 100 feet 
• Controls

Electrical cremation is a part of cremation service introduced entirely economical and suits the best green funeral services option. It is made up of furnaces for cremating and permits the family to take the remaining in just a few hours. In this process, no firewood is included, and no harmful emissions are released; hence, it is an eco-friendly initiative to replace traditional tree woods.

Also, electrical cremation is safe as it reduces the spread of the virus through the infected body.

Biomass briquettes

Recently, BMC officials announced introducing biomass briquettes instead of wood for cremation in Mumbai. Biomass briquettes are also known as white coal—a performing step towards creating a healthy environment and avoiding thick smoke pollution. A great initiative towards an eco-friendly nature is made from agricultural and tree waste. Additionally, this initiative helps to save more than 18 lakh kg of wood annually.

The briquettes are straightforward with low-pressure compaction of biomass such as agricultural waste, sugarcane bagasse, wood chips, castor seed shells, rice husk, paddy straw, paper, and so on. It is environment-friendly, entirely renewable, cost-effective, and easy to implement.

Coconut shell powder

Coconut shell powder is a novel initiative to save trees and end the dependency on wood for burning bodies. The coconut shell powder initiative was first granted in Varanasi, where the banks of Ganga are situated. They opted for a better and more effective solution to stop polluting the holy water worldwide.

In the state, the main rituals of body burning happen near the banks of the Ganga. Around 400 cremations were performed in a day. The Ganga River was getting polluted at a higher cost, so they decided to give another alternative for cremation.

To control the pollution and save nature, this is a great initiative to collect coconut shells from heaps of garbage, turn them into powder form, and use them for funeral pyres.

Bottom line

At Anthyesti, we believe in providing the best funeral service to our customers. Not the traditional firewood will be stopped compared to it. Still, better options are initiated into cremation services to stop the reckless cutting of trees and affecting the environment. These options are eco-friendly, with less wastage, and cost-effective.