Carrboro has a reputation for being an environmentally-friendly place. So it’s not surprising that town leaders are considering a plan to give citizens the opportunity to abide by their green-living principles, even after their lives have ended.

“I am Ellie Kinnaird. I own a cemetery plot – actually, two of them – in the old cemetery in Carrboro. And I have gotten an interest in green burial. And this is something that is coming to the forefront in a lot of places, because of the environmental concerns.”

Back in September, the former Carrboro Mayor and retired state senator appeared before the Board of Adlermen with a request for the town to look into making the Old Carrboro Cemetery a green burial site.

In a green burial, the body of the deceased is not embalmed. The body is placed directly into the ground – there’s no burial vault.

And the burial container is biodegradable – a wooden box, a shroud, or perhaps something made of cardboard.

The board approved Kinnaird’s request that night.

Nearly five months later, at Tuesday night’s Aldermen meeting, Assistant to the Town Manager Julie Eckenrode presented the board with some findings on how green burials would work in both of the town-owned cemeteries.

Eckenrode said that there are 30 green burial cemeteries in the U.S., and three are in North Carolina. She called one of the state cemeteries during her research.

“Just for example, in Forest Law Memorial Park in Candler, which is near Asheville,” said Eckenrode. “They started performing green burials in 2010. They created a specific section of their cemetery that was a more wooded and natural area.

“And they also decided to pick a separate area, because there are differing maintenance needs for a traditional cemetery versus a green burial cemetery.”

The number of increased staff hours it might take to service a green burial site was one concern raised at the meeting. Maintenance would include dealing with sinking land, due to the lack of a concrete or steel vault.

Public Works Director George Seiz told the board that the department currently works about 1,000 hours a year mowing and trimming Westwood Cemetery and the Old Carrboro Cemetery.

More space would be needed between plots in a green burial site. Allowing green burials in Carrboro would likely lower the number of available graves, so that would need to be taken into account.

Despite the challenges that come with green burial practices, Alderperson Sammy Slade offered some reasons to further pursue the idea.

He cited some national statistics.

“We dump, every year, 827,000 gallons of embalming fluid, which is formaldehyde; 90,000 tons of steel for the caskets; 2,700 tons of copper and bronze, also for the caskets; 1,000, 600 tons of concrete, for the vaults; 14,000 tons of steel for the vaults; and then 30-plus million board feet of hardwood for the caskets.”

Slade said that green burial is “very appropriate for Carrboro.” He added that the idea of more affordable burials should be considered as well.

At the meeting’s conclusion, Mayor Lydia Lavelle said she was hearing “cautious support” among the alderpersons. After further study, the issue will come before the board again, at some unspecified time.

Related Stories
‹
Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill Honor 50 Years of Cat's Cradle
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen’s chambers were crowded with local musicians and members of the local music community to see the board pass a joint resolution with the Town of Chapel Hill to honor and celebrate the music venue Cat’s Cradle last week. The resolution declared 2019 the ‘Year of the Cradle,’ an idea brought […]
Carrboro Board of Aldermen Changes Title to Town Council
Carrboro’s Board of Aldermen passed a resolution to change its title to Town Council at its meeting on Tuesday November 19.*** After being known as the Board of Aldermen for 50 years, the elected officials for Carrboro’s governing board are slated to change its name at their Tuesday meeting to a more inclusive title. […]
The ArtsCenter Holding Carrboro Community Meetings About Potential Move
The ArtsCenter has been in the heart of Carrboro since its founding in 1974. It was housed in the same building as Armadillo Grill and then Carr Mill Mall before settling in the 300 building on East Main Street, where it’s been since the mid-1980s. As the art education and entertainment non-profit prepares to move […]
Carrboro Board of Aldermen Vote to Move Ahead Lloyd Farm Development
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen recently heard updates on the development planned for the Lloyd Farm property and approved a conditional use permit for the initial phase of construction. The developers are preparing to begin work on Phase 1 of transforming the 35-acre plot into the Shops at Lloyds Farm, located off Fayettville Road and […]
NC 54 Corridor Study Presented to Carrboro's Board of Aldermen
Carrboro’s Board of Aldermen recently heard a presentation about a study done on the NC 54 West Corridor between Carrboro and Graham. The study, which was funded by the local Metropolitan Planning Organization, focused on the stretch of NC 54 starting in Graham and moving east to Carrboro’s West Main Street. It stemmed from a […]
INDY Week Releases Endorsements for Local Elections
The alternative weekly newspaper INDY Week released their endorsements for the Orange County municipal elections on Tuesday evening. In the Chapel Hill mayoral race, the paper endorsed mayoral candidate and incumbent Pam Hemminger, citing her work securing the affordable housing bond in 2018 and her prioritization of combating climate change as main reasons it is […]
Endorsements Continue as Local Elections Approach in Chapel Hill, Carrboro
Candidates in the upcoming Chapel Hill and Carrboro municipal elections received endorsements from the NEXT Chapel Hill & Carrboro advocacy group. NEXT, which describes itself as a group that supports progressive values in the two towns, shared the candidates the group supports in the 2019 election races on Monday. It said it evaluated candidates based […]
Construction on New Carrboro Roundabout To Begin in August
A major road project thought to be delayed is set to begin construction in Carrboro, just weeks before students are moving back to the area for the fall semester. The town announced Tuesday that the construction on the Estes Drive/North Greensboro Street roundabout would begin on August 5. Construction of a roundabout on South Greensboro […]
Halfway Through 2019 Election Filing Period, Orange County Races Taking Shape
There's still one week left to go in the filing period for this year's municipal elections, but there's already a crowded field of candidates.
Carrboro Creates Overlay District in Downtown Neighborhood
In their last meeting of June, Carrboro’s Board of Aldermen voted to create an overlay district around the Lloyd-Broad neighborhood downtown. The measure, which creates restrictions on existing houses and future construction in the area, is meant to protect the neighborhood’s identity. Historically an African-American community, Lloyd-Broad has recently experienced increases in student rentals. Carrboro […]
›