Natural eco-friendly burials now an option in Hastings' Mangaroa cemetery

Oak Meadow, the new natural burial site at Mangaroa Cemetery near Hastings, gives people an eco-option in death. Photo / Paul Taylor

Every day people are encouraged to think about the environment in the choices they make, be it using reusable bags or walking to work.

But what about being environmentally friendly when we die?

A new natural burial site called Oak Meadow, at Managaroa Cemetery in Hastings, has been designed to allow people to be buried in line with their green beliefs.

The assistant cemetery manager at the Hastings District Council, Lloyd McDonald , says the new site allows people to be interred in an environmentally friendly manner.

"It's to keep the people who are greener than others in tune with their beliefs," McDonald said.

In natural burials people are buried at shallower levels than tradition graves, allowing them to break down faster

McDonald said the optimal level was around 1.2 metres, compared with 1.8 in traditional graves.

The deceased has to wear clothes made of natural fibres and be buried either in an untreated wood coffin or wrapped in a shroud.

As most people will be interred without embalming they will have to be buried within two to three days of passing.

However, McDonald said there were some natural embalming options if needed.

Funeral director at Terry Longley and Sons Terry Longley said it was great that people had the natural burial option but the restrictions could put families off.

"Everyone likes to choose eco-friendly and make a conscious choice when it comes to the environment," Longley said.

"But the restrictions it places on the family and the funeral director usually puts people off."

He said the issues around embalming posed the biggest problem, as a body naturally starts to decay within a day, and most people need three to four days to plan a funeral.

There were other options for people who wanted to make an environmentally conscious decision but were unsure about natural burial, said Longley.

Traditional burials using coffins made from untreated wood were one option.

If someone wanted an eco-friendly cremation a very thin casket which sits inside a traditional coffin could be used.

The outer coffin is then not burnt during the cremation.

Oak Meadows opened earlier this month, and so farno one has been buried.

"People are welcome to give us a call if they're interested and we can walk them through the process," McDonald said.

While natural burials are still relatively rare in New Zealand, there are several other natural burial sites across the country. Oak Meadows is the first in the Hawke's Bay.

The site currently has 80 plots and room for expansion.