Eco friendly funeral options are ways to say goodbye to a loved one while reducing harm to the environment. They include choices like natural burials in woodland sites, aquamation (water cremation), biodegradable coffins, and traditional cremation with lower carbon impact. These alternatives use fewer chemicals, less energy, or natural materials that break down safely in the earth. More families across the UK are choosing these options because they align with personal values about protecting nature and leaving a lighter footprint after death.
This guide walks you through the main eco funeral choices available in the UK today. You’ll learn how each option works, what it costs, and where you can arrange it. We cover natural burials, aquamation, eco cremation, and sustainable materials like cardboard or willow coffins. You’ll also find out about UK laws and permissions you need to know, plus practical tips for keeping costs down. Whether you’re planning ahead or arranging a funeral now, this article helps you make an informed choice that respects both your loved one and the planet.
Why eco friendly funeral options matter
Traditional funerals leave a significant environmental footprint that many families now want to avoid. A standard burial uses land that cannot be reused, requires concrete vaults and non-biodegradable materials, and often involves embalming chemicals like formaldehyde that seep into the soil. Cremation releases around 126 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere, roughly equal to driving from Brighton to Edinburgh. These impacts add up when you consider the thousands of funerals happening across the UK each year.
Choosing eco friendly funeral options lets you honour a loved one while protecting the planet they cared about. Many people want their final act to reflect values they held in life, whether that meant composting at home, supporting conservation, or simply reducing waste. Your choice also creates a positive legacy for future generations by preserving natural spaces, protecting wildlife habitats, and reducing pollution.
Families report feeling greater peace knowing their loved one’s funeral aligned with their environmental beliefs.
The shift towards greener funerals grows stronger each year as more UK families prioritise sustainability in every life decision, including death. You can make a choice that honours both the person you loved and the world you share.
How to choose the right eco funeral option
Your choice depends on what matters most to you and what’s practical for your situation. No single eco option suits everyone, so you need to balance environmental impact, budget, location, and personal values. Start by asking yourself what feels right for the person you’re honouring and what resources you have available.
Match values to environmental impact
Think about which aspect of environmental protection mattered most to your loved one or matters most to you. If they cared deeply about preserving woodland and wildlife, a natural burial creates lasting habitat. If reducing carbon emissions was their priority, aquamation produces far less CO2 than traditional cremation. Someone who valued simplicity might prefer a basic cardboard coffin over elaborate alternatives.
Your choice becomes more meaningful when it reflects the values the person held during their life.
Consider location and availability
Where you live in the UK directly affects which eco friendly funeral options you can access easily. Natural burial grounds exist across England, Scotland, and Wales, but you might need to travel to find one that accepts your preferred coffin type or allows the ceremony you want. Aquamation remains limited to just a few UK locations in 2025, so you’ll face longer distances if this matters to you. Check what’s available within reasonable travel distance before making your decision.
Balance cost against priorities
Eco funerals often cost less than traditional options, but prices vary widely depending on your choices. A simple direct cremation with a biodegradable coffin typically costs the least. Natural burial plots range from affordable council cemetery sections to expensive private woodland sites. Decide which elements you can compromise on and which ones you must have, then build your budget around those priorities.
Types of eco friendly funerals in the UK
You can choose from several eco friendly funeral options in the UK, each offering different environmental benefits and practical considerations. The four main types are natural burials, aquamation, eco friendly cremation, and using biodegradable coffins or shrouds with any method. Understanding how each works helps you decide which option best matches your values, budget, and the character of the person you’re honouring.
Natural and woodland burials
Natural burial grounds let you bury a loved one in protected natural spaces like woodlands, wildflower meadows, or parkland. These sites prohibit embalming chemicals and require fully biodegradable coffins or shrouds, allowing the body to decompose naturally and nourish the surrounding ecosystem. You’ll find around 300 natural burial sites across England, Scotland, and Wales, each with its own character and rules.
Some sites allow simple wooden markers or flat memorial stones, while others leave graves completely unmarked to preserve the natural landscape. Most grounds encourage native trees and wildflowers rather than formal gardens, creating habitats that support local wildlife. Families often describe visiting these places as peaceful experiences that connect them to nature rather than traditional cemetery atmospheres.
Natural burials transform the final resting place into a living memorial that grows and changes with the seasons.
Aquamation (water cremation)
Aquamation uses heated water and potassium hydroxide to break down the body over approximately four hours, a process also called alkaline hydrolysis. This method produces less than one fifth of the carbon emissions compared to traditional cremation and returns a white powder similar to cremated ashes that you can scatter, keep, or bury.
Only a handful of UK facilities currently offer aquamation in 2025, though availability continues to expand. The process costs more than traditional cremation but appeals strongly to people prioritising the lowest possible carbon footprint for their funeral arrangements.
Eco friendly cremation options
Traditional cremation remains the most common choice, but you can reduce its environmental impact through several approaches. Many modern crematoria now use electric cremators powered by renewable energy, cutting CO2 emissions by up to 85% compared to gas-powered alternatives. You can also offset remaining emissions by donating to tree-planting charities or choosing shorter cremation times.
Direct cremation with no attended ceremony uses less energy overall and allows you to hold a memorial service anywhere you choose afterwards.
Biodegradable coffins and shrouds
Whatever method you choose, switching to biodegradable materials significantly reduces environmental harm. Coffins made from cardboard, bamboo, willow, seagrass, or FSC-certified wood break down naturally without releasing harmful chemicals. Simple cotton or wool shrouds offer the most minimal option and cost considerably less than traditional coffins.
These materials work for burial, cremation, and aquamation, giving you flexibility to combine sustainable choices across different aspects of the funeral.
Costs and money saving tips in the UK
Eco friendly funeral options typically cost less than traditional funerals, but prices vary widely depending on your choices and location. Understanding what drives costs up or down helps you plan a funeral that respects both your budget and your environmental values. You can expect to pay anywhere from £1,200 for a basic direct cremation with a biodegradable coffin to over £4,000 for a natural burial in a premium woodland site with ceremony attendance.
Typical UK costs for eco funerals
Direct cremation with a simple cardboard or bamboo coffin starts around £1,200 to £1,800 through most UK providers, making it the most affordable eco option. Natural burial plots range dramatically from £500 to £3,000 depending on whether you choose a council cemetery section or a private woodland ground, plus you’ll pay £1,500 to £2,500 for funeral director services if you use one. Aquamation currently costs £2,000 to £3,000 where available, sitting between standard cremation and traditional burial prices. Biodegradable coffins add £200 to £800 to your total depending on material, with cardboard being cheapest and woven willow or bamboo costing more.
Choosing direct cremation saves families an average of £2,500 compared to traditional funeral services with attendance.
Where to cut costs without compromising values
You achieve the biggest savings by handling arrangements directly rather than using a traditional funeral director for everything. Many natural burial grounds accept bookings straight from families, cutting out middleman fees entirely. Arranging your own transport using a private ambulance company costs far less than a hearse and limousines. Decorating a plain cardboard coffin yourself with paints or flowers adds personal meaning at minimal cost while staying completely biodegradable.
Skipping embalming saves £100 to £200 and actually makes the funeral more environmentally friendly since you avoid toxic chemicals. Choosing a weekday rather than weekend ceremony often reduces crematorium fees by £100 to £300, and some natural burial sites offer lower prices for winter burials when demand drops.
Hidden expenses to watch for
Watch for additional charges that quickly add up beyond the base price. Some burial grounds charge separately for the burial right, the digging fee, and any memorial marker, so always ask for a complete breakdown. Travel distance affects your costs significantly if the nearest natural burial site or aquamation facility sits far from where your loved one died or where family members live.
UK laws, permissions and practicalities
You face fewer legal barriers with eco friendly funeral options than many people expect, though you still need to navigate specific permissions and paperwork before proceeding. The law treats green funerals the same as traditional ones in most respects, but certain choices require extra planning depending on where you live and what you want to arrange. Understanding these requirements upfront prevents delays and ensures everything runs smoothly during an already difficult time.
Registration and paperwork requirements
Every death in the UK must be registered before any funeral can take place, whether traditional or eco friendly. You need to obtain either a burial certificate or cremation certificate from the registrar, which you present to the burial ground or crematorium. Cremations require additional forms signed by two doctors to confirm cause of death, adding time to the process. Natural burial grounds accept the same burial certificate as traditional cemeteries, so no special permissions apply to the burial method itself.
The paperwork process remains identical regardless of whether you choose eco friendly funeral options or traditional arrangements.
Embalming is never legally required in the UK, meaning you can always skip this step for environmental reasons. However, some venues or transport providers may request it for practical reasons if significant time passes between death and funeral.
Location permissions and restrictions
Burying someone on private land in England and Wales requires permission from the Environment Agency and your local planning authority, which rarely gets granted. Scotland has slightly different rules but maintains similar restrictions. Most families find natural burial grounds far simpler than navigating these permissions for home burials. Each burial site sets its own rules about coffin materials, memorial markers, and ceremony attendance, so you must check requirements before making final plans.
Crematoriums across the UK accept biodegradable coffins without issue, though you should confirm specific dimensions fit their cremators. Aquamation facilities remain limited, so booking ahead proves essential if you want this option.
Bringing your plans together
Planning an eco friendly funeral gives you control over costs, environmental impact, and how you honour someone’s memory. You now understand the main options available across the UK, from natural burials to aquamation, plus how much each costs and what legal requirements apply. Your next step involves deciding which elements matter most to you, whether that means the lowest carbon footprint, the most affordable price, or creating a lasting natural memorial.
Direct cremation offers families a simple, environmentally conscious choice that removes the stress of traditional funeral planning while significantly reducing costs and environmental harm. You arrange everything with one straightforward decision, receive your loved one’s ashes within days, then create a personal memorial whenever and wherever feels right. Go Direct Cremations provides compassionate support throughout the process, handling all paperwork and logistics so you can focus on remembering the person who mattered.