Green burials catching on

" ... There are green buildings, green cars, even green weddings. Now comes one of the latest, and ultimately last moves, environmentally conscious consumers can make -- green burials.

Forgoing embalming, metal caskets and concrete burial vaults, green burials instead cover the body with a shroud, place it inside a biodegradable wooden or cardboard box and bury it in a woodland, where a new tree or a stone marks the grave. This natural approach, proponents say, is far less damaging to the Earth because it eliminates formaldehyde, a chemical used in embalming, as well as barriers that simply delay the body's inevitable decay. It is an approach that has been used for centuries by Jews and Muslims.

The practice of establishing woodland burial grounds, which began in the United Kingdom and in recent years has spread to California and other parts of the country, recently received a boost from Pittsburgh's Roy A. Hunt Foundation. It awarded a $5,000 grant to the Green Burial Council of Santa Fe, N.M., seeking to establish a national network of funeral homes to provide green burials.

Paul Henney, who operates funeral homes in Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon and other area locations, is among those supporting green burials. He's the local contact for the Green Burial Council and said he would handle such arrangements for anyone interested.

Mr. Henney said he has received a "handful" of inquiries about green burials, "but right now, we don't have any cemeteries here providing these."

If someone wanted to be buried at a cemetery outside the region that does provide green burials, his company could help facilitate the effort. He also could obtain biodegradable caskets, which range from about $100 for a basic cardboard box to more than $3,000 for a handcrafted model. ... "

From 'Eternally green: Woodland burials are a natural alternative to an embalmed afterlife' ~