Green burial does away with embalming, non-biodegradable caskets, vaults, and even traditional headstones. While the deceased may have a memorial service, or even a visitation, the pageantry of the typical American funeral is done away with: the body is allowed to decompose naturally, adding nutrients and fertilizer to the soil, rather than contaminating it.

A memorialization is still possible without embalming, even after a few days. Refridgeration and dry ice can prevent decay long enough for a viewing. Any Funeral Director that tells you otherwise is nto working in your best interest. Running a funeral home without a refrigerated holding room is like running a restaurant without a walk-in cooler.

But many funeral homes don’t offer one because they want you to pay for the more costly option: embalming.

A casket can be made of wicker, cardboard, bamboo, hemp, willow, rattan - any 'low-impact material - or be replaced with a simple shroud. The casket in no way repels the natural elements from reaching the body, which is also bio-degradeable.

In essence, no effort is made to prevent decomposition. This is nearly identical to the standard American funeral before the Civil War.

Green cemeteries look more like lush forests than a traditional graveyard, with its neat, orderly rows of graves. Much like early American graveyards, the green cemetery is a place of beauty that invites relatives of the deceased to enjoy the beauty of nature. In fact, green burial is quite analogous to the truly 'traditional' American burial that existed before the formation of the funeral industry.

The number of green cemeteries in the US is increasing rapidly, as is the number of funeral directors who will provide green burials. It’s worth noting that every funeral home in America is capable of providing a green burial, as they can all inter a devout Muslim according to religious practice. This requires no embalming, no casket or vault, and interment within 24 hours.

Not all green cemeteries are equal. There are three primary types:

• Hybrid green cemeteries, usually attached to traditional cemeteries, allow bruial without a vault or grave liner.
• Natural Burial Grounds do not allow liners, vaults or embalming, and require a bio-degradeable casket or shroud. Their pest management system must be pesticide-free.
• A Conservation Burial Ground is like a Natural Burial Ground, but also must involve an established conservation organization that holds a conservation easement or has in place a deed restriction guaranteeing long-term stewardship" and "be owned by, or operated in conjunction with a government agency or a nonprofit conservation organization that is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity and in business for at least five years."

More information can be found at the Green Burial Council.