“Green burial” is taking root only recently in the US. With just a handful here, the 93-acre Greensprings Natural Cemetery is the first of its kind in New York. Unlike other burials, where bodies are put in a waterproof, permanent container — protected from the environment, at Greensprings, bodies cannot be embalmed or otherwise chemically preserved. Here, to dig the grave, a plot costs $500 plus a $350 fee.
The bodies here must be buried in biodegradable caskets. The caskets are without linings or metal ornamentation. Suggesting locally harvested woods, wicker or cloth shrouds, the cemetery does not allow concrete or steel burial vaults. You will neither get to see or build a standing monument, upright tombstones or statues here.
Via: Associated Press
