Blended funerals are funerals that combine conventional funeral practices with home funeral and/or green burial practices; may include the use of a funeral director for certain aspects of care, such as obtaining, completing and filing paperwork or transporting the body. Families may have a home funeral without having a green burial and visa versa. Blended funerals offer families more options, especially when certain options are not available in their area.

Green Washing is the act of deceptively marketing goods or services by hiding dubious aspects of their environmental profile. In the case of green burial, the full picture of environmentally sound practices is important. Using a casket of organic materials but made by using fossil fuels and child labor and transported 3000 miles to its destination is not considered “green” or environmentally sound.

Green Burial is a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat. Green burial necessitates the use of non-toxic and biodegradable materials, such as caskets, shrouds, and urns.

Green Burial Ground also known as a green burial cemetery is a generalized term often used synonymously with natural burial ground.

Eco-friendly products and practices are designed to have a range of effects on the environment, from being beneficial to being the least damaging available option.

Memorialization is the process of honoring the dead by marking where a burial has taken place. This can include an engraved headstone or stone monument with a written account of the person being commemorated, a QR code, a photo, an object, etc. In the case of a green or natural burial, a fieldstone, wooden bench, tree, shrub, or sculptural art using natural materials is most often utilized. Memorialization in conservation burial grounds is minimal, consists of natural materials, and preferably those derived from the conserved property.

Decomposition is the breakdown of the body by natural means through soil, water, heat and microbes in balance.

Natural decomposition, which is the goal of green burial, occurs when no chemicals or non-biodegradable elements, like steel, resins, fabrics, or cement vaults, impede the process or attempt to preserve the body.

Biodegradable items can break down into natural materials in the environment without causing harm and are capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.

Embalming is the process of removing blood and fluids from the dead body and inserting preservatives, surfactants, solvents, and coloration to slow decomposition and improve looks for a period of up to two weeks. Organs are punctured and drained of fluid with the use of a sharp instrument called a trocar; waste is disposed of in a standard septic system or municipal wastewater treatment plant.

Embalming fluid consists of an array of chemicals, including benzene, methanol, ethyl alcohol, and ethylene glycol (antifreeze). Formaldehyde, which constitutes anywhere from 5 to 29% of the solution, is associated with increased risk of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), leukemia, lymph hematopoietic malignancies, and brain cancer in embalmers.

Green embalming fluid is a biodegradable, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, and formaldehyde-free alternative to conventional embalming fluid. The process of embalming is the same regardless of which fluid is used.

Green embalming or professional green body preparation consists of the services provided by a funeral director that will culminate in a green burial. This includes a non-invasive, natural means of cleansing and preparing the body. If embalming is necessary or requested, the Green Burial Counsel approves an essential oil-based product.

Conservation Burial Ground is a type of natural cemetery that is established in partnership with a conservation organization and includes a conservation management plan that upholds best practices, and provides perpetual protection of the land according to a conservation easement or deed restriction.

Conventional cemetery is a cemetery that requires the use of a concrete or fiberglass grave liner and a hard-bottom casket; also known as a “lawn cemetery” or a “modern cemetery.” Prior to the establishment of modern cemeteries, most burial occurred in churchyards or on family land and was environmentally friendly. Modern cemetery requirements are dictated by “convention” rather than law.

Hybrid Burial Ground is a cemetery that allows vaults and offers green burial. 

Meadow burial consists of burial in a field-like setting where grasses are allowed to grow and mowing occurs once a year; a green burial practice.

Natural Burial Ground is a type of cemetery that allows full body interment in the ground, without embalming, using a biodegradable container, and without a grave liner or vault. Cremated remains and pet remains may be accepted in natural burial grounds.

Serial burial  is the practice of re-using burial space after a determined length of time, usually 20-30 years, ad infinitum. This practice is common in other countries; there are no known laws against it in the US. By contrast, conventional US cemeteries may allow a one-time double depth burial where a spouse is buried on top of an existing grave.

​Woodland burial is a burial in the forest among the trees. Gravesites are left alone to naturalize with little or no interference from groundskeepers other than to provide access to the gravesite.