# What's the cheapest legal way to dispose of a human body? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 30, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858 "2011-12-30T18:42:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/41 "2012-01-01T19:47:42Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Actually, I’m not interested in a hermetically-sealed, water-tight waste-o-money casket. A cardboard refrigerator carton would suit me fine. And since I’m wanting to be buried on my own land, I won’t have any cemetery rules about concrete liners and other folderol. I don’t know what jurisdiction you live in, but many US states have quite restrictive laws on home burials. What, if any, apply in your locale? ---
**Author:** ![DHMO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@DHMO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DHMO)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/42 "2012-01-02T17:55:45Z")
Well, there’s always [Soylent Green](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green)! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/43 "2012-01-02T18:11:34Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Serious question. Suppose one were to cook and eat the corpse, would this be illegal in most jurisdictions? You can’t eat the whole thing, and if later you show up at a crematorium with a bunch of gnawed-on bones, I’d guess there would be a few questions asked. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/44 "2012-01-02T18:16:48Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Something I have always wondered about: I am a single woman with absolutely NO family. Quite frankly, I don’t give a tinker’s damn what happens to my body, and there will be no one there to mourn anyway. If I don’t make any arrangements before I kick off, what will they do with my body? The documentary [A Certain Kind of Death](http://acertainkindofdeath.com/) goes into the details of what happens to people who die with no next of kin. (In Los Angeles. I’m not sure if the procedure is the same everywhere.) In summary, a government agency collects and auctions off their possessions. Efforts are made to find anyone who may have known the person and notify them. The body is kept in storage for several months. If no one shows up to claim the body, the body is cremated and the ashes are buried in a common grave. I highly recommend the documentary, although it is not for the squeamish. Lots of footage of bodies in advanced states of decomposition. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/45 "2012-01-02T18:25:32Z")
> [@DHMO](#): > > Well, there’s always [Soylent Green](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green)! I received a carton of Soylent Green crackers for Christmas. The box says they are all natural! ---
**Author:** ![angelwins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@angelwins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelwins)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/46 "2018-04-09T11:22:21Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > As the the OP – cheapest to who? Cheapest to your estate? To your family? To society? > > I heard on plenty of cop shows that family members don’t have to claim a body from the morgue, and the city/county/state? will bury the body in a “Potter’s Field”. That cost is presumably spread among thousands or millions of taxpayers, which would surely make the cost to any individual the cheapest. But whether the cost of a burial like that is cheaper in absolute terms than cremation, I couldn’t tell you. Most Potter’s Field-type cemeteries are long-closed, having been filled to capacity, with no land available in most places to create another. Now indigent people in many areas are cremated, their ashes are stored for a period of time to allow for long-lost family members or friends to claim the ashes, then, if they are not claimed, they eventually end up in a landfill. Sad, but true. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/47 "2018-04-09T12:59:49Z")
In Arkansas it is possible to bury on privately owned late. Most cities and Towns have restrictions. We turned a half acre into a grave yard. The state requires a permit and inspection. We dug an 7ft. deep hole. They came and looked and took soil samples. Measure the distance to ponds or wells. We got the permit. When my in-laws died that is where we buried them. You can’t just go out and thrown them in the hole. They have to be prepared (ew) by accredited morticians and put in approved coffins. My husband brother is now buried there. We have also allowed a indigent friends family member to be buried there. Now, of course we get calls every month or so for permission to use it. We aren’t going to allow any body else to do it. There is a limited amount of space and we may need it. So quit calling folks!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/48 "2018-04-09T13:04:23Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My husband brother is now buried there. “He was my husband! He was my brother! He was my husband _and_ my brother!” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/49 "2018-04-09T13:22:10Z")
Aacckk, my brother-in-law is what I meant to say. Jeez, I proof read and everything;). ( I need a reality show ‘Brother Husbands’) ---
**Author:** ![ElderSign](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eldersign/32/8263_2.png) [@ElderSign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElderSign)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/50 "2018-04-09T13:25:55Z")
Just an FYI about “donating your body to science”. From my medical school experiences, the students will goof on how your body looks and some organizations break their rules and stack bodies vertically. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/51 "2018-04-09T13:30:34Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > “He was my husband! He was my brother! He was my husband _and_ my brother!” Makes Christmas shopping much easier. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/52 "2018-04-09T14:12:10Z")
> [@ElderSign](#): > > Just an FYI about “donating your body to science”. From my medical school experiences, the students will goof on how your body looks and some organizations break their rules and stack bodies vertically. There is no guarantee that donating your body to science will end up at a medical school. Many such donations result in test dummies for products like motorcycle helmets or military land mines. [Body Brokers](Body Brokers: Inside America’s Underground Trade in Human Remains [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0767917340/ref=cm\_sw\_r\_cp\_apa\_Dq3YAbK8AWMY3](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0767917340/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Dq3YAbK8AWMY3)) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/53 "2018-04-09T14:44:29Z")
I’d be kind of disappointed if, after I donate my body, the students didn’t make jokes using and at the expense of my corpse. I mean, if you can’t joke around about death, what can you joke about? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/54 "2018-04-09T15:02:45Z")
What about a glue factory for human bodies? We must all do our part and recycle. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/55 "2018-04-09T15:33:18Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Zombies will walk out on their own power. **Boyo Jim** , fortune teller. 😃 > [@VOW](#): > > Actually, I’m not interested in a hermetically-sealed, water-tight waste-o-money casket. A cardboard refrigerator carton would suit me fine. Spend the extra money to get it custom printed…with your picture/info on the “Missing” panel. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/56 "2018-04-09T16:21:46Z")
Don’t some cemeteries require the box be sealed? I don’t think cardboard will meet the requirements. I know there is a limit to how many people can be put in a certain area. Stacking or several people in one hole isn’t permitted in Arkansas. I often wonder what they did during the Civil war or the Flu epidemic. It had to be horrific. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/57 "2018-04-09T18:18:38Z")
Anyone who is looking for affordable disposition of human remains should look into [direct cremation.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzrTl3kYHBE) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/58 "2018-04-09T20:54:29Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Anyone who is looking for affordable disposition of human remains should look into [direct cremation.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzrTl3kYHBE) So “direct cremation,” according to the cite/pitch, is “we’ll burn 'em and bag 'em, here’s your receipt.” Forgive me if that was mentioned or assumed upthread–but couldn’t you save money, conceivably, by burning 'em yourself? And then deposit (for a professional service, if necessary) the remains to be disposed of according to law? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/59 "2018-04-09T21:11:23Z")
I’m not a funeral director or lawyer but it would almost certainly be the opposite. There will be a lot more red tape and legal finagling to get the OK to cremate a body yourself. Did the deceased have a pacemaker and can you verify that if so, it was removed? You do not want to cremate a body with one! Do they have mercury amalgam fillings? If so, do you have an acceptable ventilation system to ensure the mercury fumes and any other toxins are appropriately sequestered away from whoever is performing/viewing the cremation? Other than Crestone, I don’t believe there are any open air cremation facilities in the US available to the public. Once the body is ash, though, pfft you can pretty much do what you want with it and even if there are _technically_ laws on how ashes can be disposed, there are not roving gangs of funeral police who will check up on you 3 months later to make sure you didn’t chuck grandma in the ocean. Don’t just pour the ashes around a tree or bush though. Without further treatment, cremated ashes are too harsh to be used as nutrients or fertilizer and may sicken or kill the plant. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858/60 "2018-04-09T21:15:42Z")
here is a youtube channel with lots of videos about funeral homes and cremations. She does a good job presenting the info . She also has written 2 books on the topic. [Ask a Mortician - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi5iiEyLwSLvlqnMi02u5gQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cheapest-legal-way-to-dispose-of-a-human-body/607858.md?page=4)