a rock with roses on it sits next to a tree, showing a green burial

Alternatives to Burial & Cremation

More people are exploring alternatives to traditional burial and cremation. Options that reflect personal values, environmental concerns, or a desire for something unique. This section introduces a range of choices, including alkaline hydrolysis, human composting, body donation, burial at sea, and more. Whether you’re planning ahead or just curious, these articles offer thoughtful insights to help you understand what’s possible and find the option that feels right for you.

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Alternatives to Burial & Cremation

What Are Alternatives to Burial and Cremation?

What Does Human Composting Cost?

Is Alkaline Hydrolysis Legal in Every State?

What Is a Sea Burial?

What Is Cryonics?

What Is the Process of Promession?

Explore Films on Funerals and Green Burial

Billionaires Are Pouring Millions Into Technology to Cheat Death

What Is Entombment? How Does It Differ From Burial?

What Is a Tree Pod Burial?

Take a Closer Look at Cryonics

What Is the “Body Worlds” Exhibit?

What Is the Process Involved in Plastination?

The Green Burial Guidebook

What States Currently Allow Human Composting?

An Interview With Recompose Founder Katrina Spade About the Process of Natural Organic Reduction

“Greensickness”: A Poem About Healing

Do Bones and Teeth Decompose During the Human Composting Process?

Learn about Better Place Forests Trees and Nature As an Alternative to Cremation Urns

Can Families Participate in the Composting Process or Ceremony?

Alkaline Hydrolysis: Green Burial or Scientific Nightmare?

Is Human Composting Safe for the Environment?

What Is the Process for Arranging a Full-Body Sea Burial?

Jeff Edwards Demonstrates Alkaline Hydrolysis

Does a Body Need to Be Embalmed for a Burial at Sea?

A Will for the Woods

“If I Die Young” by The Band Perry

What Happens to a Body When Buried at Sea?

Are There Private Companies That Provide Full-Body Burial at Sea?

My Loved One Was a Veteran. Will the Navy Conduct a Burial at Sea?

Composting Bodies Is Now Legal in 14 States

What to Know About Green Caskets

What Is Open-Air Cremation and Is It Harmful to the Environment?

Greenhaven Natural Preserve: A Video About Natural Burial

Since When Does Cremation Not Include Fire?

What Happens to My Body When I Donate It to Science?

Water Cremation Faces Backlash

Your Loved One’s Name In Floral Letters

Shifting Attitudes About Death and the Environment

Has Cryonics Ever Revived Anyone?

Cremation Association of North America: Environmental Impact of Cremation

What Is the Cost of Cryonics?

Tibetan Sky Burials: The Ultimate Natural Burial

Mortician Caitlin Doughty Talks About Human Composting

Why Would Only a Person’s Brain Be Cryonically Preserved?

Why is Alkaline Hydrolysis Called Green Cremation?

Is Alkaline Hydrolysis More Eco-Friendly Than Cremation or Burial?

An Architectural Student Designed a Necropolis for the Dead

How Much Does Alkaline Hydrolysis Cost?

Sierra Magazine Explores Alkaline Hydrolysis

Watch a Burial at Sea Aboard the USS Enterprise

How Is the Liquid Portion of a Person’s Remains Disposed of After Alkaline Hydrolysis?

A Look at Zoroastrian Towers of Silence

Release Bubbles Not Balloons

Explore Books on Green Burial

Andy Zawacki of the Cryonics Institute in Michigan Explains the Process of Cryonics

Is Backyard Burial Legal?

Lesser Used Disposition Options

Alternatives to Burial & Cremation Additional Resources