How a shortage of burial spaces can lead to greener graves

As living humans voraciously consume the planet’s dwindling resources, our dead are also running out of space.

Britain’s graveyards and cemeteries are rapidly filling up and there will be precious few plots left for burials within five years, a leading public health expert warned on Friday.

He is not the first to sound the alarm about this looming problem. A 2013 survey of local authorities found almost half were expecting to run out of burial space in the next two decades. Many graveyards have been forced to expand onto neighbouring land and do away with trees or lawns to make more room.

The crisis is not unique to the UK. In Hong Kong, there are an estimated 200,000 corpses lying in wait for a final resting place and funerals can be delayed for years as a result. In the US, earlier this year, Washington state became the first to legalise the composting of bodies as an alternative to burial or cremation.

Many countries have attempted to circumvent shortages by allowing graves to be reused, but in England and Wales (with the exception of London) this practice is legally problematic.

However, a shortage of space for traditional burials offers an opportunity for a culture shift towards more environmental options.

There are growing concerns about the ecological and human health impacts of sinking embalmed bodies in the ground. The preservative chemicals used – typically formaldehyde, a known carcinogen – can seep into surrounding soil and water systems.

Cremation has less impact on the ground, but the intense heat required to burn bodies eats up vast amounts of gas and electricity and releases greenhouse gases into the air – along with toxins such mercury, from our dental filings.

It is for these reasons, as well as the shrinking space available to bury our loved ones, that public health consultant John Ashton calls for a “grand strategic vision for green burial places”.

Efforts to plant thousands of trees in the UK’s urban areas present a chance to join the dots between environmentalism and human burial, he writes in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. As we “reclaim our cities” with new green spaces, Ashton argues, major transport routes should be lined with “wildlife burial corridors” where trees, bushes and flowers sit atop human remains in biodegradable coffins.

Funerals held at the side of A-roads and railway lines may seem an unappealing prospect, but many undertakers already cater for demand for green burials in woodland away from urban areas. 

As more of us shun plastics and rein in our air miles in an attempt to make our lives less damaging to the planet, we should consider too the impact of our deaths.