If you have been searching what is green burial, you are usually trying to answer two questions at once. You want to honor someone in a way that feels honest and gentle, and you want to do it with less environmental impact than conventional burial practices. A green burial can be exactly that: a return-to-the-earth approach that prioritizes natural decomposition, minimizes chemicals and long-lasting materials, and often protects land rather than consuming it.
The Green Burial Council explains green burial as an environmentally conscious approach that prioritizes placing the body directly in the earth, forgoing embalming, and using biodegradable materials. The National Funeral Directors Association summarizes green burial similarly: interment without a concrete vault or metal casket, using biodegradable materials such as wooden caskets or shrouds. Those definitions are helpful because they keep the decision grounded in practical features you can verify.
This guide walks you through what green burial typically includes, how it works from first phone calls to interment, what costs usually look like, and how to use certification and directories to avoid “greenwashing” when choosing a green or hybrid cemetery. Along the way, you will see where eco-friendly cremation memorialization can fit, such as biodegradable urns, because many families compare green burial vs cremation before deciding what feels right.
What Green Burial Typically Includes
At its simplest, green burial is built around a few consistent practices. The Green Burial Council describes green burial as foregoing toxic embalming, doing away with vaults, choosing biodegradable containers (caskets, shrouds, and sometimes urns), and, in greener cemetery models, discontinuing herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. These elements matter because they are the difference between a burial that is “eco-themed” and a burial that is actually designed to return the body to the earth with minimal interference.
In practical terms, most families will encounter these core components:
- Body care that avoids conventional embalming whenever possible (often refrigeration and/or dry ice, plus washing and dressing).
- A biodegradable casket or burial shroud made from natural materials (or another container approved by the cemetery).
- No burial vault or liner, unless a conventional cemetery requires one and you are doing a compromise plan.
- A burial ground whose rules support natural decomposition and, in stricter models, limit chemicals and non-native stone markers.
If you want a clear, family-friendly overview of green burial containers (wicker, bamboo, cardboard, simple wood, and shrouds) and how cemetery rules change what is allowed, Funeral.com’s Journal guide Eco-Friendly Caskets and Shrouds: Greener Choices for Earth Burial is a practical companion to this article.
How Green Burial Works
Families are often relieved to learn that green burial can be straightforward. The steps are not mysterious; they are simply different from what many people assume a “modern funeral” requires.
First, you choose your support team: a funeral home willing to work embalming-free when desired, a cemetery or burial ground with green-compatible rules, and (optionally) a celebrant, clergy member, or end-of-life doula if you want help shaping ceremony. The Green Burial Council notes that embalming is rarely required by law and encourages families to ask about alternatives, such as cooling and washing, especially if they want a viewing or time for family travel.
Next, you select the burial setting and confirm rules in writing. This is the step that prevents most disappointments. A green burial plan can fail at the last minute if a cemetery requires a vault, prohibits shrouds, restricts container materials, or limits marker types. It is far easier to confirm requirements first and then choose your container than to fall in love with a container that is not permitted where you are burying.
Finally, you plan the ceremony and interment. Green burial ceremonies can look traditional (a graveside service with prayers, readings, or eulogies) or simple (a family gathering, a short committal, and a quiet lowering). Many green burial grounds also have site-specific etiquette about plantings and decorations to protect habitat and maintain the landscape. The Funeral Consumers Alliance notes that many green cemeteries forbid or limit personal plantings and some memorial decorations, so it is worth asking about restrictions before the day of burial.
Hybrid, Natural, and Conservation Burial Grounds
When families say “green cemetery,” they may be talking about very different places. The Green Burial Council provides clear category definitions that help you avoid greenwashing and choose a burial ground that matches your values and your family’s expectations.
According to the Green Burial Council:
- A hybrid cemetery is a conventional cemetery that offers the essential aspects of natural burial (often in a designated section). GBC-certified hybrids do not require vaults and must allow eco-friendly biodegradable containers such as shrouds and soft wood caskets.
- A natural burial ground is dedicated in full to sustainable practices and does not allow toxic chemicals, any part of a vault, non-native stone markers, or burial containers not made from natural/plant-derived materials.
- Conservation burial grounds are a type of natural cemetery established in partnership with a conservation organization and include a conservation management plan and perpetual protection of the land through a conservation easement or deed restriction.
Those categories are not just labels; they shape what the burial looks like, what is permitted on the land, and what your fees support. If you want the “greenest” land impact and long-term habitat protection, conservation burial is often the clearest match. If you want green burial practices but your family has an existing cemetery plot or wants a familiar cemetery setting, a certified hybrid section can be a strong middle path.
Green Burial vs Conventional Burial and Green Burial vs Cremation
Conventional burial in the U.S. often involves embalming, a non-biodegradable or heavily finished casket, and a concrete vault or liner. The Green Burial Council contrasts conventional burial practices with green burial’s focus on forgoing embalming, avoiding vaults, and using biodegradable materials. The NFDA similarly emphasizes that green burial generally means direct earth interment without a concrete vault or metal casket and with biodegradable containers.
Green burial vs cremation is often a values-and-logistics comparison rather than a simple “which is greener?” question. Cremation can be logistically simpler for families who live far apart and want to hold a memorial later. Green burial can appeal to families who want a whole-body return to the earth without a high material footprint from vaults and metal caskets. Many families also consider hybrid options: a green burial without embalming even in a conventional cemetery section, or cremation with eco-conscious memorialization choices (such as biodegradable urns for scattering or soil interment). If cremation is part of your decision set, Funeral.com’s resource on Eco-Friendly Urns and Biodegradable Options can help you understand what “eco-friendly” can look like after cremation.
Green Burial Costs and What Drives the Total
Families often assume green burial must be expensive because it sounds specialized. In practice, green burial costs can be lower than a traditional funeral with burial because green burial often avoids embalming and can avoid vault costs, and because families may choose simpler services. For context, the NFDA reports a national median cost of $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial in 2023 (not including cemetery costs like plot, opening/closing, or a marker). Comparing your local green burial quotes to that median can help you sense whether you are seeing a reasonable market range.
Published estimates for green burial vary, largely because the burial ground type, land cost, and included services vary. Some consumer-facing planning resources estimate green burials commonly land in the low thousands. For example, cremation.green reports a typical range of about $1,500 to $4,000, and After.com reports green burials commonly in a few-thousand-dollar band (with wide variation by location and service level). Use these numbers as a starting point, not a guarantee, and then confirm your local pricing in writing.
The clearest way to budget is to separate the costs into categories: the burial rights (plot or space), the interment fees (opening/closing, staff, equipment), the container (shroud or biodegradable casket), and the memorialization (marker, engraving, conservation contribution, or a simple GPS-based record if the cemetery uses that model). Conservation burial grounds may price higher than a basic hybrid section because your purchase can include long-term land stewardship and legal conservation protection.
Planning Steps That Make Green Burial Easier in a Stressful Week
Green burial becomes much easier when you treat it like a simple sequence rather than a research project. Start by choosing the burial place, because the burial place determines what is allowed.
If there is no green cemetery nearby, the Funeral Consumers Alliance notes that families can still “make any burial greener” by eliminating embalming and using a shroud or biodegradable casket, and by omitting the vault if the cemetery allows it (or asking about less restrictive outer-container options if a vault is required). That approach can be a realistic compromise when your family has an existing plot in a conventional cemetery or when certified green burial grounds are not accessible.
Next, confirm body care and timeline. If family travel is needed, ask about refrigeration and other cooling methods instead of default embalming. The Green Burial Council provides a detailed discussion of body care that avoids toxic embalming and emphasizes that families can ask funeral homes about alternatives.
Then choose the container and the ceremony. If you want help comparing container materials (shrouds, simple wood, wicker, bamboo), Funeral.com’s Eco-Friendly Caskets and Shrouds article lays out the practical questions cemeteries ask and the “what to confirm before you buy” details that prevent surprises.
How to Find a Certified Cemetery and Avoid Greenwashing
“Green” language has become popular, and not every provider uses it consistently. This is where certification and directories are genuinely helpful. The Green Burial Council’s certification is designed to promote transparency and, as the GBC puts it, to combat greenwashing by holding providers to standards and accountability.
The simplest starting point is to use the GBC’s interactive maps and confirm the category of the cemetery you are considering. You can search by location using the Cemetery Provider Map and, if you need funeral-home support aligned with green practices, the Funeral Homes Provider Map.
Once you find a cemetery, ask for its rules in writing and match them to your goals. The Green Burial Council definitions are a useful checklist: does the site require vaults (a green red flag), does it allow only biodegradable containers, and in natural or conservation grounds, does it limit toxic chemicals and certain marker types?
It also helps to know that the U.S. does not have a single federal standard for “green burial” marketing. The Funeral Consumers Alliance notes that the FTC has not developed specific standards for funeral homes or cemeteries offering green burials, which is why certification and written rules are so valuable when you want to avoid vague promises.
Questions to Ask a Green or Hybrid Cemetery
You do not need to become an expert to plan well. These questions tend to reveal whether a provider’s green offering is genuine and whether it fits your plan:
- Do you require a vault or liner in any part of the cemetery, including “green sections”?
- What containers are permitted (shrouds, simple wood, wicker, bamboo, cardboard), and do you require a rigid support board?
- Do you allow embalming-free burial without restrictions, and what cooling methods are supported if we need time for travel?
- What are the rules on markers and memorialization (native stone only, flat markers, GPS mapping, decoration limits)?
- What fees are charged separately from the plot price (opening/closing, administrative fees, conservation contribution, marker installation)?
If you want a broader Funeral.com walkthrough that ties these questions to real cemetery categories, start with Green Burial and Natural Burial Grounds, which explains how green and conservation cemeteries commonly structure rules and why it matters for planning.
Choosing Products Without Creating a “Green Shopping Spiral”
Many families find it helpful to keep product decisions simple: choose the burial place, then choose the container that meets that place’s rules, then choose personalization that fits the cemetery’s standards. If your plan includes cremation (either instead of green burial, or as a separate family preference), eco-friendly memorialization can still be thoughtful. Funeral.com’s Biodegradable & Eco-Friendly Urns for Ashes collection is designed for families who want a natural materials approach for soil burial, water release, or scattering without long-lasting synthetic components.
If your family is comparing green burial to other low-impact options in 2025, it may also help to learn the vocabulary. Funeral.com’s Green Funerals: Eco-Friendly Options for Saying Goodbye provides a broader overview of green funeral options beyond cemetery burial, which can be useful when family members have different comfort levels and you are looking for a plan that still feels aligned.
Finding a Certified Cemetery Without Overthinking It
A practical way to avoid greenwashing is to use a two-step filter. First, start with certification and category: use the Green Burial Council provider map to find cemeteries, then confirm whether the site is hybrid, natural, or conservation according to GBC definitions. Second, ask for written rules and itemized pricing so you can compare “what is included” across providers. This approach keeps the decision grounded in verifiable facts rather than marketing language.
Green burial planning is at its best when it is both values-aligned and realistic. It is okay to want ecological care and a simple, familiar ceremony. It is okay to choose a hybrid section because your family needs a conventional cemetery setting. And it is okay to decide that cremation with eco-conscious memorialization fits your household better than burial. The point of a good green burial plan is not perfection. It is clarity, transparency, and a final choice that feels gentle to the person you are honoring and sustainable for the people who will carry the memory forward.
