The Green Burial Committee is a grass roots, volunteer-run group that seeks to educate people about the benefits of green, or natural, burial. They are also working to establish a green cemetery in Massachusetts.

Committee co-chair Judith Lorei says that, while green burial is legal in the state, most cemeteries currently do not permit it. “We’re seeking to make green burial a genuine option in Massachusetts,” says Lorei. “Why would an environmentalist allow their body to be pumped with embalming fluid and placed in a steel box inside a concrete vault, or burned using gallons of propane? For those who want to die the way they live, it is critical that there be a natural cemetery in this state.”

Lorei says that current options for those who wish to have a green burial include using one’s own property or transporting the body to green cemeteries in Maine or New York. The committee hosts informational workshops and presentations on green burial throughout the state and posts the information on GreenBurialMa.org. The Green Burial Committee is also searching for donated land suitable for establishing a natural cemetery.

For more information, call 413-774-2320, email [email protected] or visit GreenBurialMA.org.