Life

The greening of death: How natural burials help sustain life on Earth

Traditional burials have long been known to be harmful to the environment. But a new wave of eco-friendly ‘end of life’ technologies promises to change all that

Colin McAteer and Niall Deacon at Woodbrook Natural Burial Ground: ‘You’re going from a sterilised graveyard to something that’s just buzzing with life’

Pasta straws. Electric bikes. Vegan meat. With the looming threat of climate collapse, we’re all changing how we live. But what about how we die?

It may not be our first thought when we contemplate saving the planet, but traditional end-of-life options can be environmentally destructive. In the United States, traditional burials use up to 20 million feet of wood, 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluids and 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete each year, ...