Death and the rituals that surround it are generally discussed only when there is no other choice. Grieving families are grateful a funeral director is handling the arrangements, and they don't often inquire about burial alternatives. That has begun to change.

Growing Demand

The generation that brought juicing, natural childbirth, and mindfulness meditation to the forefront are the same folks now wanting water cremation, seaweed caskets, and tree pod burials. Recent research by a national funeral council showed that 64% of adults over 40 said they were considering nontraditional body disposition methods. Here are some of the reasons for the newfound interest in alternatives:

• A Pew Research study shows that over 30% of US citizens hold nonreligious spiritual beliefs and favor earth-centered, metaphysical, or Eastern burial customs.
• When an embalmed body decays, toxic chemicals can leach into the ground and contaminate soil and water ecosystems.
• Emissions from fire cremations contribute to the carbon footprint.
• Traditional caskets are generally constructed of hardwoods and metals, neither of which biodegrade well.
• The cost of many nontraditional options is significantly less than the $7000 average cost for a traditional burial.

Some mainstream funeral homes have begun offering alternative options, but a natural or holistic funeral home will have more knowledge and information about various spiritual traditions and their burial customs.

Judeo-Christian Traditions

When a funeral home receives a call, its employees contact the coroner, collect the deceased body and prepare it for viewing or memorial services. Christian practices include preserving the body with embalming chemicals. Jewish doctrine forbids both embalming and cremation, so burial is completed soon after death. Survivors generally don’t participate in the body preparation. They can choose from a menu of funeral and burial services.

Alternative Practices 

Natural or holistic funeral homes are springing up in most major cities. They offer a range of nontraditional services for reverent body care, memorial planning, and body disposition. Embalming is not used, but dry ice may be applied discretely to preserve the body for a viewing or memorial.

Alternative providers are generally well-versed in the funeral practices from a variety of spiritual traditions. Ordained ministers or officiates from varying traditions are usually available to perform services if you require that. This is a sample of alternative body-disposition options that may be available through natural funeral homes or their affiliates:

• Conservation burial – a model that minimizes environmental impact using protected conservation cemeteries, biodegradable caskets, shrouds, and urns
• Burial at sea – a burial practice used by many spiritual traditions; cremated ashes or a shrouded whole body is cast into the sea; regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency
• Reef burial – an eco-friendly variation on water burial where cremains are suspended in environmentally safe concrete and dropped into a man-made “eternal reef” in the ocean
• Water cremation – an environmentally sound, energy-efficient water dissolution process catalyzed by lye and heat
• Tree pod burial – an eco-friendly option where the body is buried deep inside a large biodegradable pod; a pre-selected memorial tree is planted above
• Memorial novelties – a number of processes that suspend cremains into diamonds, vinyl records, fireworks, jewelry, paper and art glass

Alternative funerals and burial practices vary in cost. A memorial tree seedling burial, which incorporates ashes or remains throughout the soil of a seedling, could run just $250, while a reef burial is near the top of the range at around $7000. The average cost of alternative burials is difficult to pinpoint. The range is broad, since you do have the opportunity to go out in grand fashion with a memorial space flight. While not particularly eco-friendly, a resting place in the final frontier can dent your estate by up to $12,000.

If you’re among the growing sector of Americans who hold nonreligious spiritual beliefs or eco-conscious values, you'll appreciate having alternative funeral and burial options. They will generally save you money and will enable you to rest in peace, knowing your unique end-of-life wishes have been honored.