5th October 2006

An ECO-cemetery has been set up in Gloucester. The 350-plot graveyard named the New Millennium Cemetery at Coney Hill is now up and running. For the first time people wanting to be buried in Gloucester are being offered the choice of environmentally friendly graves. Only biodegradable coffins will be used and wreaths and floral tributes will be removed within a week of a burial, with no headstones or other memorials allowed.

Plans of the graves will be drawn up so plots can be identified once the surrounding woodland has developed. Each plot will be identified by a number and it is not possible to book a particular place in advance. The cemetery will eventually become a natural wooded area, not recognisable as a traditional graveyard at all. The plan is to increase the number of plants, insects and birds at the green site where a variety of trees has already been planted.

Cllr Philip Booth, Press officer for the Gloucestershire Green Party, said: "I applaud Gloucester City Council for doing this. It is certainly something that we would like to see more of elsewhere in the county. These woodland cemeteries are the way forward as they cause the least amount of pollution to the environment."

Philip Booth added: "Cremation pollutes the atmosphere and ground water from chemicals emitted in the burning process. And if wood is used for the coffin, natural resources are wasted, particularly if the wood is a scarce hardwood, such as mahogany. Cremation also scores very high on energy consumption, as regulations require that the temperature reaches at least 850F for over an hour. With cemetery burial, the question of pollution does not arise in the same way, although there are still issues - in parts of Scandanavia mercury fillings have been banned because of their impact on the environment from people after their death. There is also still the question of waste of resources if a wooden coffin is used. Cemeteries can be inhospitable as wildlife habitats, with paths of gravel chippings, rows of headstones and general lack of greenery or they can become wildlife havens depending on how they are managed."

Philip Booth said: "However woodland burials are generally accepted as the greener option if using coffins made of an environmentally friendly material. However there are still questions about land use and costs. At the end of the day it must be a choice for individuals and their families about burial or cremation. This new cemetery will give people more choice."