Why You Should Choose Cremation over Burial

You’ve probably seen an uptick in the number of people opting for cremation services in Scarborough, ME, instead of a burial. If you are still on the fence about choosing cremation, here are a few points to help you decide. 

Cremation is cheaper 

Let’s start with one of the major pain points when a death occurs: money. A lot of money, often unbudgeted, goes into organizing a burial. 

In Scarborough, it costs $7,000 on average to organize a burial with a funeral, with $4,535 being the lower end of that range. If you want a traditional full-service burial, you can expect to spend a lot more than that, up to 10k. 

But with cremation, you can shave off between $2,000 and $3,000 from the cost depending on your arrangement. A full-service cremation costs $6,270 on average, and a direct cremation without funeral services costs $2,347. 

If you want to save money, cremation is the better choice, and direct cremation is the best choice. 

Cremation is more environmentally friendly 

A burial might be more extravagant and more widely acceptable, but the process is harmful to the environment. 

Some of its known causes of ecological damage include embalming chemicals, wood for caskets, and heavy transport emissions. 

Of course, we are not saying cremation is entirely green. The cremator is commonly flame-based and produces 534.6 pounds of carbon dioxide. But on balance, cremation is friendlier to the environment. 

Also, it depends on the type of cremation you choose. A direct cremation is much friendlier than traditional cremation, but water cremation (aquamation) is the greenest of all. 

Cremation is simpler 

It’s a less spoken aspect of planning a burial funeral, but there are many things to organize and decide on. Within the first day of death, most people have to make 70 decisions on average. 

That’s a lot, especially when one has just suffered the loss of a loved one. One needs time to process and settle into the new reality. 

Cremation offers that breathing space. There are fewer decisions to make, and more importantly, you don’t have to make them all at once. 

You can cremate the body and organize other funeral rites later when it’s more emotionally and fiscally convenient. 

Even in a direct cremation, which is more immediate, you only need to fill out a couple of forms, and the funeral home (or crematorium) takes care of the rest. 

Cremation is more flexible 

The simpler nature of cremation gives it another significant advantage over burial — flexibility. 

Without a body to plan for, families are free to tailor every single aspect of the disposition and funeral process. 

Instead of a burial, families can choose to keep the urn in a home, in a burial vault, columbarium niche, or scatter the ashes. If family members have trouble settling on one idea, it is possible (and okay) to divide the ashes for everyone to use as they wish. 

Furthermore, families can opt for more personalized ceremonies like a celebration of life or memorial service instead of the standardized burial funeral. 

None of these is to say cremation is perfect. Still, it is better than a burial in all the ways that make life easier for the living and uniquely honor the dead. 

If we’ve convinced you or have a few concerns you wish to clarify, reach out to us. We offer cremation services in Scarborough, ME, and are well equipped to answer them. Call us or visit our office to get started.