Why go the green way?
Across the world, about 50,000,000 people die every year. From the pollution caused by crematoriums to the use of hardwood coffins and embalming of burial, most traditional end-of-life ceremonies come with a whole set of problems for the environment.

Growing environmental awareness, coupled with people becoming less likely to want a traditional send-off, has seen the rise in ethical and alternative funerals, says Cara Mair of ARKA Original Funerals on Surrey Street in Brighton.

She says: "I find it difficult when green is the defining term because there are so many parts which go into it. We look at environmental issues but also about empowering people around their choices within the ceremony. In the past, funerals have tended to be religious but there are so many different faiths in our society now, it has opened things up.

"It's not just funerals, people are personalising and questioning all kinds of rites of passages, from weddings to baby-namings."

What is a green funeral?
Although definitions vary, an ecologically- sound funeral generally involves cremation with an eco-coffin, or burial with no embalming fluids and in a biodegradable container.

Increasingly, people are looking to be buried in woodland settings or on their own property.

Alan Virgo, deputy bereavement service manager at Brighton and Hove City Council, says: "On average, we have between 50 or 60 environmental funerals a year, compared to about 360 traditional ones, so it's still a smallish percentage. It's gone down a bit now because Bear Road a woodland burial site is full and had to close."

Forget tradition
Why be buried or cremated when you could connect with nature in a different way? American fisherman and conservationist John Grayson Rogers had his ashes combined with a concrete reef which was then sunk in his favourite bay - coral and sea life soon begun to congregate and thrive.

An environmentalist's mindset looks towards diversity to help protect and nourish nature, yet a vast graveyard or millions of cremations amount to a dangerous funerary monoculture.

Cremation
There are serious emissions associated with crematoriums, among them nitrogen oxides, which are greenhouse gases; the pollutant carbon monoxide; sulphur dioxide, which causes acid rain; mercury; and a variety of volatile organic compounds.

According to Defra, up to 16% of all mercury emitted in the UK comes from crematoria because of fillings in teeth.

Without action, it is expected to increase to 25% by 2020.

However, modern regulations on emissions mean these pollutants are being brought under control, and cremation does solve the space problem - Lewes cemetery, for example, will be full within six years.

Burial
As hard as it may be to think about, once we are done with it, our body is just another part of the complex global ecosystem. Much like the garden composting we spend so long getting right, our bodies decompose and re-enter the food chain.

Modern burial techniques, such as hardwood coffins lined with soft materials, embalming - and even concrete vaults - are all designed to slow down this decomposition process, and can leach toxins into the soils.

To avoid this, bamboo, reef or other biodegradable coffins are recommended, or even just a shroud.

Eco website Treehugger.com says: "The truth is, anything we can do to return to the earth more easily will lessen our impact on the environment."

A living memorial
A woodlan burial grounds allows for a tree to be planted instead of a headstone. The idea is over the years a great woodland develops and, rather than mourn at a grave, people can sit in a beautiful forest and spend time with their thoughts, or even have a picnic.

Alan Virgo says: "They are really popular, the only problem is there is nothing in the way of a memorial to look at, it's just a tree. Relatives can visit the tree, cut the grass round the tree if they want and hang bird seed in it, but it is a bit restrictive. It depends how the family want to remember the deceased. A lot of people like to do a bit of gardening around the headstone but that isn't the idea in a woodland, it's a natural area for wildlife. "

The first woodland burial ground in Brighton was in Bear Road. It opened in 1998 and closed last year when it was full. There is also one in Hove and one planned in Woodingdean.

Sympathy gifts with sympathy for the planet
Cut flowers are not well known for their eco-goodness. Grown using pesticides and fertilisers and flown across the world to get here, their ecological impact is way off the scale.

It is becoming more customary to ask for charity donations in lieu of flowers, though, and there is no reason why the charity shouldn't be one with the environment in mind.

Treehugger says: "What better way to remember the dead than to create a better world for the living?"

Don't forget the little things
Small gestures can make huge impressions and, if you are planning your own funeral ahead of time, or know what the deceased would have wanted, then all the smaller details can be made to fit the eco-theme, too.

Choose from organic, locally-sourced food, to recycled paper or email invites, to a biodiesel-powered procession.