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Woodland burials are not only eco-friendly: they're cheaper too

This article is more than 16 years old

It was fitting that Queen of Green Dame Anita Roddick's funeral was 100 per cent eco-friendly. The Body Shop founder, who died last month, was cremated in an 'eco-pod' coffin made from biodegradable shrubs, while special filters designed to reduce mercury emissions were used during the cremation.

While green living may be one thing, green dying is quite another - and not usually something that's at the forefront of an eco-consumer's conscience. But new research from the Post Office reveals that nearly 35 per cent of people plan on an 'eco-friendly' burial, rather than traditional coffin burials and cremation ceremonies.

Eco-friendly funerals include being buried in cardboard coffins or being freeze-dried and buried as bio-degradable dust (the latter being an option which 13 per cent would choose). Natural burials are increasingly taking place in secluded woodlands, and some people are choosing to plant trees in place of headstone.

The cost of a traditional funeral varies depending on location and choice of coffin and memorials, but Mike Jarvis, director of independent funeral advice organisation the Natural Death Centre, says eco-funerals are relatively inexpensive in comparison.

'Burials in traditional municipal cemeteries will generally always be more expensive than a green funeral, for the simple fact that cemeteries have more outgoings and costs in terms of maintaining grounds and headstones and internal roads and so on,' he says. 'Eco-friendly options are inexpensive.'

These include simple biodegradable cardboard coffins (typically about £140) and woven coffins made from sustainable materials, such as bamboo.

'A chipboard coffin would cost about £300, but solid wood can be up to £1,000,' says Craig Cooper, from Daisy Coffins in Devon, which makes banana leaf and water hyacinth coffins from about £600. 'The most important thing is to offer families choice of a more natural, attractive and softer-looking coffin.'

Location is another consideration; the Natural Death Centre lists more than 200 natural burial grounds in the UK, mainly woodlands and meadows. Most do not allow headstones and instead encourage tree-planting as living memorials, or will allow small wooden grave markers.

'You don't have to be buried in a field - even in a cemetery, you could make it greener simply by the choice of your coffin, or by not having wasteful floral tributes stuck in foam,' Jarvis says

Regardless of the type of funeral, most people fail to make financial provisions for burial or cremation costs. The Post Office has launched over-50s life cover, which allows customers to pay from £7 a month (up to £50 a month) to provide a cash sum upon their death to loved ones, some of which could be used to meet funeral costs.

Jarvis says that although many people place their funeral wishes within their wills, the will might not be read until after the burial. 'I would advise people to leave a separate note of advance funeral wishes instead. And don't leave it with the will - this way your funeral wishes will be followed.'

The Natural Death Centre: www.naturaldeath.org.uk; 0871 288 2098. Daisy Coffins: www.daisycoffins.com; 01803 865437. The Post Office: www.postoffice.co.uk; 0800 096 5597.

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