Green Funerals: 7 Sustainable Funeral Practices To Consider For An Eco-Friendly Farewell

While planning a funeral is often emotionally challenging, the growing emphasis on sustainability is leading more families in Singapore to offer eco-friendly funeral packages, including options like tree burials and biodegradable pods or containers for cremated remains.

These green funerals honour loved ones and reduce the carbon footprint, reflecting a global shift towards more environmentally conscious methods in the funeral industry.

Below, we delve deeper into sustainable funeral practices in other countries and how the existence of natural burial sites helps diminish carbon footprint and promote eco-friendly funeral methods of laying the deceased to rest.

What Is A Green Funeral?

A green funeral, often called an eco funeral or natural burial, represents a sustainable approach to funeral practices, contrasting sharply with traditional methods.

The goal of a green funeral is to ensure the body’s return to the earth in a manner that promotes conservation and minimises environmental impact.

This eco-friendly funeral form avoids the use of embalming chemicals, which are replaced with natural alternatives like refrigeration for temporary preservation.

For a burial to qualify as green, certain criteria must be met:

• No embalming.
• Must use biodegradable materials for caskets such as untreated wood, wicker, or cardboard.
• Avoid concrete vaults or liners, which are often mandated for aesthetic reasons by cemetery bylaws but contribute to land use issues and increased environmental footprint.

This form of funeral service is a natural and eco-friendly alternative to traditional cremation and burial, supporting conservation and reducing greenhouse gases. More people opt for green funeral options to honour their loved ones while protecting the environment.

3 Benefits Of Eco-Friendly Funerals

Choosing a green funeral offers several advantages, making it an increasingly popular option for many. Here are five key benefits:

1. Reduced Carbon Footprint: Green funerals minimise the release of greenhouse gases. By avoiding traditional embalming chemicals and opting for biodegradable caskets, the environmental impact is significantly lower than traditional cremation and burial methods.
2. Conservation of Natural Resources: Green burials use natural materials like untreated wood, wicker, or cardboard, conserving precious natural resources. These materials decompose naturally, contributing to soil health rather than polluting it.
3. Emotional Comfort: Many people find solace in knowing their loved ones are honoured in a nature-focused way. Green funeral options align with the values of conservation and respect for the environment, providing emotional comfort to family members.

Green funeral directors and funeral homes offer various green funeral options, ensuring a minimal environmental impact. As more people opt for these eco-friendly funerals, they contribute to conservation efforts and a sustainable future.

7 Green Funeral Practices That Contributes To Sustainability

Choosing sustainable funeral practices contributes to environmental sustainability and honours the values of eco-conscious individuals. Here are seven practices to consider:

1. Tree Burial

While funeral practices vary from religion to religion, traditional burials have similar elements: The deceased’s body is prepared to be placed in a casket, presented during a funeral service, and brought to the cemetery for the final burial.

Families generally start by choosing between a wood or metal casket and typically engage with funeral directors for the entire affair.

But sustainable funeral practices are much more different. Tree burial services, for instance, do away with the traditional casket/coffin. They’re a unique alternative to conventional burials and take place in natural/green cemeteries.

In this eco-friendly funeral, family members select a biodegradable pod or urn instead of a traditional casket, aligning with green funeral practices recommended by eco-conscious funeral directors.

In tree burials, a person’s remains are placed in a biodegradable pod or urn, then buried in the ground and covered with soil. The pod is buried near a tree base, often in designated natural burial sites that serve as conservation areas.

This process allows the tree to absorb nutrients from the decomposing remains and use them to grow. It also represents a natural life and death cycle, as the deceased’s remains once again become part of the tree and its surrounding ecosystem.

Tree burials have a minimal environmental impact and are viewed as a way to honour and remember a loved one naturally and beautifully. 

2. Sea Burial

In Singapore, sea burials are a traditional and culturally significant way of honouring the deceased. Families who choose this option can have their loved ones’ remains scattered into the open water in designated sea burial sites like the south of Pulau Semakau.

To conduct a sea burial in Singapore, the deceased’s body is placed in a specially designed casket or urn and then transported by boat to a designated location in the sea. The casket or urn is then lowered into the water, and the family members can choose to scatter flowers or other mementoes on the water to say goodbye.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore oversees sea burials to ensure that they are conducted following the law and safely and respectfully. They require that sea burials are conducted at least three nautical miles away from the shore and that the casket or urn is biodegradable and contains no hazardous materials.

3. Human Composting

Terramation or composting of remains may seem unconventional as a green burial method. But Washington state in the US has introduced it as a legal alternative to cremation and was subsequently embraced by several families.

As the name suggests, human composting is a process that converts human remains into nutrient-rich soil that can be used to fertilise plants and trees. Human remains are placed in a container with organic materials like wood chips, straw, and alfalfa sprouts.

Over several weeks, naturally-occurring microbes break down the human remains alongside organic matter into compost. It can then be used for gardening, tree-planting, and other agricultural purposes.

Many Americans prefer this green burial method over traditional burials involving chemicals like embalming fluid and non-recyclable materials like concrete or metal.

Opting for human composting uses fewer resources and significantly reduces the carbon footprint associated with conventional burial or cremation methods.

One funeral parlour in the US even integrates technology into this green burial technique by adding sensors and trackers to ensure optimal conditions for the decomposition process. The compost is placed in natural burial grounds, where families can visit and add flowers or other biodegradable mementoes.

4. Aquamation

Aquamation or alkaline hydrolysis involves prolonged immersion of the deceased’s body in water and a strong alkali mixture (potassium hydroxide). It is then stored in an extremely hot and pressurised container, causing the tissues and skin to liquefy.

This process, also known as water cremation, uses natural chemicals and significantly less energy than traditional flame cremation, aligning it with green funeral practices.

Similar to body composting, aquamation is legal only in certain countries. In fact, the body of anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu will be one of the first to be aquamated in South Africa, which has no legislation governing this funeral practice.

Aquamation proves sustainable as burial spaces in urban locations worldwide become scarce and expensive. Advocates claim that liquid cremation is less energy-intensive than conventional cremation. It emits fewer greenhouse gasses as well.

5. Mushroom Burial Suit

Did you know that late Hollywood actor Luke Perry was buried in a biodegradable burial container made of mushroom spores? Although unconventional, this green funeral method offers an eco-friendly alternative for those open to new ideas.

The mushroom suit, also known as the Infinity Burial Suit, is a compostable burial shroud made of mushroom spores. These spores assist in decomposing the remains and filtering toxins from them so they don’t contaminate the surrounding plant life after the body is buried in the ground.

The mushroom suit is made of biodegradable materials and microorganisms that speed up decomposition. Once the suit is buried, these compounds produce enzymes that naturally break down the body and eliminate toxic waste like lead, BPA, pesticides, and mercury.

By cleansing the body of toxins and delivering nutrients to plant life, this eco-funeral option helps maintain healthy soil and supports sustainable land use. It represents a growing trend among green funeral directors to offer eco-friendly funeral options that reduce carbon emissions and promote natural cycles.

6. Sky Burial

Many cultures follow unique and meaningful traditions regarding eco-friendly end-of-life arrangements. One such tradition is Tibet’s sky burial, a spiritual and symbolic way of naturally returning the body to the sky and earth.

During a sky burial, the deceased’s body is brought to a high location, usually on a mountaintop and left for the vultures to feed on.

This ancient burial practice has existed for over 11,000 years and is based on the belief that the body is merely a temporal vessel and no longer required after death. The Tibetans believe feeding the body to the vultures releases the soul and allows it to move peacefully into the afterlife.

Tibetan sky burials also serve a functional purpose. The region’s climate often reaches freezing point, making it difficult to dig graves. Sky burials are believed to return the departed’s vessel to earth with minimal disturbance.

7. Biodegradable Coffins

Traditional coffins are often fabricated from wood and have some biodegradable properties. But, they’re mostly fashioned out of metal (steel, copper, bronze) which isn’t biodegradable and has harmful environmental impacts.

Biodegradable coffins are a more sustainable alternative. The remains are buried in biodegradable soft wood, cardboard, or bamboo caskets. These materials naturally decompose, reducing the impact on the environment.  No embalming fluid, grave liners, or headstones are involved.

Some cemeteries in the US offer green funerals involving such coffins. These eco-friendly materials may also help protect and preserve wildlife, transforming traditional cemeteries into natural burial grounds.

In Singapore, eco-friendly caskets such as paper coffins and willow caskets are also offered to families who want to opt for greener send-off. These caskets are suitable for both cremation and burial processes.

Conclusion About Green Burials

While the concept of green burials may still be relatively new to many, it is rapidly gaining popularity as people become more aware of their environmental impact and seek more sustainable options.

In Singapore, eco-friendly funeral options are few and far between, but more funeral directors are offering green funeral packages. The growing interest in sustainable burials is probably due to the city-state’s limited land size and resources. More and more people are turning towards suitable, cost-effective, and space-saving alternatives.

Despite such efforts, Singapore has a long way to go before adopting eco-friendly funeral practices. Traditional beliefs and cultural traditions surrounding death and funerals can make accepting new and unconventional methods difficult.

Nevertheless, families are slowly but surely factoring in environmental impacts when deciding on funeral-related matters.

Casket Fairprice in Singapore is a one-stop funeral service in Singapore offering various funeral services, including in-house funeral parlour, embalming facilities, hearses and a dedicated team of funeral directors and full-time staff.

We provide comprehensive support to families in need, ensuring respectful and eco-friendly funeral options. 

Consult with us now to learn more about how we can assist you in planning an eco-friendly funeral for your loved ones.

Frequently Asked Questions About Green Burials