burial alternatives

The list below provides some sustainable alternatives to consider when making your burial and funeral plans.

  • Recompose

    Recompose uses a process called natural organic reduction to gently transform human remains into soil. This soil can then be used to regenerate the earth that support our whole life. You can donate your soil to a land trust or greenhouse. This is essentially human composting, which is currently legal in Washington, Oregon and Colorado. Image courtesy of Facebook.

    https://recompose.life/

    Image of soil and flora such as tree bark and leaves

  • Coeio

    Coeio is a green burial company offering products for humans and pets. Infinity Burial Suits are worn by the deceased and completely biodegradable. The end result of being buried in the Infinity Burial Suit, or any of Coeio’s products, is that bodies are transformed into vital nutrients that enrich the earth and foster new life. Image courtesy of Facebook.

    https://coeio.com/

    Image of Coeio founder , Jae Rhim Lee, in the mushroom suit prototype

  • Better Place Forests (Conservation Burial Ground)

    Better Place Forests is an example of a conservation burial ground. Conservation burial grounds are the most sustainable alternative to cemeteries because they exist on protected land. Better Place allows families to choose a private, protected family tree to return their ashes to the earth together. Image courtesy of Facebook.

    https://www.betterplaceforests.com/

    Image shows a person with long black hair sitting next to a memorial tree with a medallion on it

  • Natural Burial Grounds

    Prairie Oaks Memorial Garden is a Minnesota-based natural or green burial ground, an example of an eco alternative to cemeteries. Green burials cost a third of the price of a traditional burial and are better for the environment, as they don’t use the same embalming chemicals used in traditional burials. Image courtesy of Facebook.

    https://prairieoaksgardens.com/

    Image of an all wood casket at Prairie Oaks

  • Alkaline Hydrolysis

    Unlike flame-based cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, aquamation, or green cremation, uses water blended with an alkali solution to accelerate decomposition of the body. The remains can then be left whole or ground into ashes, and returned to the family for burial or kept in an urn. Bradshaw Funeral Home in Minnesota is a pioneer in this offering. Image courtesy of Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

    https://coeio.com/

    Image of cremation remains in a small jar

  • Hybrid Burial Grounds

    Hybrid burial grounds allow for burial without an outer container, such as a grave liner, and allows for burial in any type of container, including a shroud. Minnesota’s Mound Cemetery in Brooklyn Center offers hybrid burials. Note this is the lowest certification by the Green Burial Council, with natural burial grounds and conservation burial both higher. Image courtesy of Facebook.

    https://www.moundcemetery.com/burial

    Image shows a hybrid burial ground with a person wrapped in a colorful shroud prior to burial

Image Courtesy of Flickr (CC BY 2.0)