Massachusetts Ranks 5th In The Country For This “Green” Trend

I apologize in advance for the potentially morbid nature of the following topic, Berkshire County friends and neighbors, but I have to ask: Are you familiar with the subject of "green" burials?

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With all the talk going on today about taking care of our planet and being environmentally friendly, we often don't hear a lot of talk concerning "green" burials. However, it appears that the trend is growing in popularity, so you may start hearing a lot more about it.

A green (or "natural") burial is the process of interring the body of the deceased in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition, allowing the body to be naturally recycled.

Basically, green burials do away with not only the embalming chemicals but also many of the non-biodegradable materials that are commonly used in funeral practices such as steel and cement for burial caskets, crypts, mausoleums, etc.

As I stated a few paragraphs above, green burials are growing in popularity as more and more people are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint not to mention potentially saving their families thousands of dollars on costs.

Recently the lawn professionals at Lawn Love compared the 50 states across 18 metrics in 4 main categories to come up with 2023's Best States for Green Burials. Some of the metrics included access to green burial locations, average cremation costs, average monthly Google searches for green burial-related keywords, etc.

Guess what? When it comes to natural burials, Massachusetts is way ahead of the curve, ranking in the Top 5! Here are the top 5 Best States for Green Burials in 2023, according to Lawn Love:

1. California
2. North Carolina
3. Ohio
4. Pennsylvania
5. Massachusetts

The Lawn Love experts had this to say in their study:

Massachusetts boasts the most cemeteries certified by the Green Burial Council. The Bay State also claims the highest number of hybrid burial sites, where people can choose between a natural and traditional burial.

I'd say that's pretty interesting. By the way, do you want to take a guess on the worst state for green burials? Alaska is dead last followed by Nebraska, Montana, and Delaware.

Take a look at the full rankings on Lawn Love's website here. Everything is there for your perusal.