It appears that even death will not release us from the problem of our carbon footprint, with the Sydney Catholic Church opening an environmentally friendly burial ground. A normal cremation will produce an estimated 160 kilograms of carbon dioxide, the majority from burning the coffin.
This has created a demand for a greener alternative like Sydney's first natural burial ground, which opened this week.
Situated next to the manicured lawn cemetery in Sydney's western suburb of Kemps Creek, the ground consists of a field littered with leaf and bark droppings and surrounded by eucalyptus trees.
The only marker of its function is a large sandstone rock inscribed with "St Francis Natural Burial Field".
As part of the guidelines to be buried here, bodies will have to be prepared without chemical preservatives and placed in biodegradable coffins.
The natural burial park in Sydney's west will not have headstones, but people can find their family members using GPS technology.
A GPS stick will be buried with the bodies and an electronic organiser is lent to visiting family members who want to find the exact location of the grave.
It was opened by the New South Wales state minister for lands Tony Kelly,
"We often hear about benefits of leaving a low carbon footprint during our lives," he said.
"Here we have the option to leave that low carbon footprint continuing on into the next life.
"So I'd now like to officially declare, Sydney's first natural burial ground, St Francis Field, open."
On hand to bless the new burial ground was Bishop Julian Porteous, the auxiliary bishop of Sydney and the head of Catholic Earth Care.
"In the name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen," he said.
The CEO of the Catholic Cemeteries and Crematoria Board, Michael McMahon, says it is a more viable option for some.
"In the past, there's been a tendency towards monuments of some description and clear graves," he said.
"Today people are perhaps more appreciative of the fact the actual place of rest can be a lot simpler and could take a natural setting like this and with a very simple memorial to the person, just a plaque in remembrance."
Cost effective
Mr McMahon says the average cost of the natural burial plot is just over $2,000, compared to double the cost for a traditional grave.
"It's been something that I've been dreaming about for the last 15 or 16 months after visiting the United Kingdom and seeing first hand where a per cent of burials are now taking place ... through this means," he said.
The natural burial ground is currently open to all denominations but funerals are organised through the church or through funeral homes and civil celebrants are not able to conduct ceremonies at this site.
But civil celebrant Victoria Spence says it is still an exciting development.
"You could conceivably have a picnic here in a much more appropriate setting that is much more resonant of life than you would see if you went to another cemetery that is completely dominated by the death aesthetic of headstones and lawn graves," he said.
"It's indicative of a bigger shift towards understanding that death is a crucial part of our life."
Until now there have only been natural burial grounds in Lismore and in Tasmania.
The makers of recycled cardboard coffins say it is fantastic to see this type of site in Sydney.
LifeArt founder Eckhard Kemmerer says according to his research, up to 20,000 people a year want an eco-friendly funeral.
Mr Kemmerer says with the decreasing availability of land, most people will still choose cremations.
"The demand is actually rising for our product because the cremators are facing very tough emissions regulations," he said.
"We've just returned from Europe and they're looking desperately for a new material to make coffins out of and there's eventually going to be a ban on burning timbers and MDFs in cremations because of the high emissions."
Mr Kemmerer says his cardboard coffins emit 60 per cent less carbon dioxide than traditional timber or chipboard coffins during cremation.
Yet his company went into voluntary administration earlier this year.
He says this is partly because he is forced to sell the coffins through funeral homes and not directly to the public.
"We have had tremendous support from a few of the funeral homes, but by and large the majority of them still will only buy our product when a consumer asks for it," he said.
"We estimate that we're losing half to two-thirds of the enquiries to the funeral industry. Once we get the business back we need to look very hard at how we can increase the numbers of people who are able to buy a coffin from us rather than have them be talked out of it by somebody who isn't supportive of our product."
The natural burial site at Kemps Creek will be able to hold 300 bodies.
SIC: ABC