Here are some possible alternatives that I have found that could help Potter's Fields from being moved. Making a whole body donation is a good alternative and it is
free. Of course this can only be done with bodies that are claimed by
relatives. If the deceased did not make arrangements for a whole body donation
prior to death, the body can be donated as long as the relatives are in
agreement. The cremated remains are returned to the family upon request. This
is from a reply made on Oct. 28th from a comment made to “We are
running out of room” posted on Oct. 20th regarding whole body
donations.
I have pulled this information from website of BioGift. They
will cover ALL expenses provided they can use the body and if the
transportation cost does not exceed $1,500. The cremated remains will be given
to the family upon request, again at no cost. However, this is still dependent
on the deceased body qualifying as a whole body donation. Some exclusions are;
infectious diseases “such as viral Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, Creutzfeldt Jakobd
Disease or Tuberculosis) may not donate. Other factors may prohibit donating to
BioGift such as severe obesity (>50% over normal weight), excessive edema,
decomposition, trauma or embalming.” [1]
Since there are some exemptions to whole body donations that
would exclude some people I looked into a few other alternatives. I found a
cemetery in London has been recycling plots in order to stay in business. My
suggestion would be to recycle the plots in Potter’s Fields and other municipal cemeteries to
alleviate the need for moving the cemetery for urban development. Helen Knight’s article Way to go (2011), offers some space
saving alternatives to traditional burials. “With over half of the world's population living in cities, lack of
space is a growing problem in urban cemeteries” (Knight, p. 44). The graves are
dug up and then the exhumed bodies are placed in a mass grave. This method of
recycling graves conserves on much needed space. I would guess that after 3 or
4 generations, gravesites are no longer visited my family members or loved ones
of the deceased. Not to be rude or disrespectful, but the gravesites of the
unclaimed and unknown will probably will never be visited. Why not recycle the
graves after 50-100 years?
Another space saving and environment friendly alternative to
traditional burials are “green” burials. This method has been adopted by a
cemetery on Denman Island. Meribeth Deen’s (2011) Mortal Soil explains that cremations, although is a space saver,
may not be as environmentally friendly as it was once thought. The “green”
burial would be of little cost to the city to inter indignant people compared
to a traditional burial. “The
basic principle of natural burial is that bodies are returned to the earth
without chemical embalming. Caskets must be biodegradable, made from untreated
wood or cardboard; bodies can also be buried in cloth shrouds. Graves are not
lined with plastic or concrete, as they are in most North American cemeteries,
and green cemeteries don't feature manicured lawns and tombstones” (Deen,
p.24). There would not be pesticides left in the ground with a buried embalmed
body or harmful pollutants released in the air from cremations. “Nearly every
municipal cemetery in British Columbia is contemplating incorporating some
aspect of green burial” (Deen, p. 24).
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Figure 1[2]
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Perhaps if the
United States could get its municipal cemeteries to adopt one or all of these
space saving concepts, this could potentially stop Potter’s Fields from being
moved.
Reference:
Deen, M. (2011). MORTAL SOIL. Canadian
Geographic, 131(4), 24.
Knight, H. (2011). Way to go. New
Scientist, 211(2825), 44-47.
