Polk County has received application for the purchase of land that resides in the Town of Apple River for a natural or green cemetery.  Wikipedia data indicates that natural burial is the internment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to recycle naturally.

This process varies from the traditional cemetery in that chemical to delay decomposition of the bodies and containers are not utilized and biodegradable coffins are substituted.  Also, only flat stone markers are utilized and designs are meant to be compatible with current surroundings.

Wiki data indicates that each year 22,500 cemeteries in the U.S. bury:

• 30 million board feet of hardwood caskets
• 90,272 tons of steel caskets
• 14,000 tons of steel vaults
• 2,700 tons of copper and bronze caskets
• 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete vaults
• 827,600 U.S. gallons of embalming fluid which usually contains formaldehyde

Additional information is available on the internet under Prairie Oaks Memorial Eco Gardens.  Please become familiar with these methods and share your concerns and opinions with members of the Town of Apple River Board.

Respectfully submitted By Ken Sample, Supervisor

• Nov 03, 2017 Fire Department Options
• Oct 28, 2017 Apple River Fire Department
• Oct 01, 2017 Prairie OaksMemorial Eco Garden Proposal