FAQs

The Funeral Consumers Alliance chapter in your area will have a survey of local funeral costs divided by category. There you will be able to price embalming services and coffin prices. With a Green Burial, you have no embalming cost and much more leeway in the cost of the burial vessel. (If you use a family quilt, your cost is zero.) Burial costs are sometimes a little difficult to discern from websites but in general, you will even save money on a Green Burial over a conventional burial. The cost saving at the green burial ground is that there is no fee for the burial vault or its placement because there is no vault. A green burial plot will likely be more expensive because conventional cemeteries bury approximately 1000-2000 bodies per acre, while the rule of thumb for a green burial ground is 100-300. (Remember that part of the definition of Green Burial includes preservation/restoration of the environment.) The fees for opening/closing the grave and perpetual care should be similar for both types of cemeteries.