Green burial encompasses a variety of practices meant to reduce a person’s final carbon footprint. Here, we’ve assembled information about what makes a burial green, where you can have a green burial in the Twin Cities metro, and where to find caskets, shrouds, and urns that are environmentally friendly.
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What Is Green Burial?
Green burial can mean a lot of different things, but often includes these characteristics:
Caring for the Dead
Natural funeral care means caring for the person who died without embalming, generally using dry ice, Techni-Ice, or other cooling techniques. Additionally, green cemeteries may expect that the deceased is buried in natural fiber clothing, and that any products used in the deceased’s care that are not biodegradable (bandages, tape, etc.) are removed prior to burial.
Caskets, Shrouds, and Outer Burial Containers
Biodegradable caskets or coffins are made from renewable resources like bamboo, willow, seagrass, and the like. They often avoid glue, staples, plastics, and other materials that are not biodegradable. Other options include caskets made of wool or recycled or reclaimed materials.
Instead of caskets or coffins, many green burials simply wrap the dead in a biodegradable shroud. For burial, the shroud will often incorporate wooden slats to stabilize the person’s body. A shrouded person can be carried to the grave site on a reusable wicker trundle.
Further, green burial does not use concrete or fiberglass outer burial containers to encase the casket or shroud. Unfortunately, many cemeteries still require the use of a concrete graveliner; however, we can often find a compromise that reduces the use of concrete while still fulfilling your wish for a greener burial. Finally, many green cemeteries limit grave markers to natural rocks, native plantings, or even a simple GPS marker.
Does Green Burial Support Conservation Efforts?
Many modern burial practices harm the planet to some degree. Natural burial aims to reduce that harm. But if conservation efforts are included in a natural cemetery’s plans, green burial may actually reverse some of the harm that modern life has caused. Conservation burial grounds have specific conservation goals to remove invasive species and restore natural habitats to make them more hospitable to native flora and fauna. See the work by the Land Conservation Natural Burial group to learn more about bringing conservation burial to the Twin Cities.
Twin Cities Cemeteries Offering Green Burial
Several cemeteries in the Twin Cities area offer green burial options. Other cemeteries not listed here may honor your wishes for a greener burial, and the more frequently it is requested, the more likely it will be offered in the future!
- Roselawn Cemetery
- Resurrection Cemetery—Mendota Heights
- Mound Cemetery—Brooklyn Center
- Oak Hill Cemetery—Minneapolis
Links to Eco-Friendly Caskets, Shrouds, and Urns
- Green Burial Council Certified Products
- Passages International Caskets, Shrouds, and Urns
- Kinkaraco Shrouds
- LifeArt Containers by Terrybear
- Simple Pine Box
- Aldergrove Woodworks Caskets
- Fiddlehead Casket Kits
- Starmark Cremation/Burial Caskets
- Aril Urns
- Titan Caskets
- Natural Legacy Wool Caskets and Urns
- Trappist Caskets
Other Online Resources
- The Green Burial Council evaluates and certifies funeral providers, cemeteries, and products that are gentle on the Earth.
- ”On the Way to the Green Burial Cemetery,” by Lee Webster
- Green Burial Information from the Funeral Consumers Alliance