The aim is to reduce the ecological footprint during a funeral or cremation.

In Denmark, funeral coffins made of cardboard are very successful, and in Norway, sustainability was recently the topic of a cemetery conference, writes Vårt Land.

People have really started to take the more environmentally friendly alternative to themselves, says funeral agent Michael Sparvath to the Danish media agency Ritzau Fokus.

He is one of several funeral agents who report greater demand for cardboard coffins, according to the Danish media agency, published in Kristeligt Dagblad.

One of the coffins, the so-called Orbit coffin, consists of 80 percent less wood than a traditional coffin. The coffin is made up of a strong, lightweight sheet of cardboard from Swedish, sustainable forestry.

Another version from the company Green Goodbye has an outer wooden coffin, which can be reused up to 30 times, as the inner coffin is made of cardboard and can be removed so it can be cremated with the deceased.

When Nastasia Tami Jensen started as a funeral agent in Roskilde two years ago, there was little talk of sustainable funerals.

But today it is wildly popular, and as soon as people hear about the opportunity, that is what they choose, she tells Ritzau Fokus.

Sustainability has also become an important keyword during funerals in Norway. During the recently held Church building and cemetery conference, the theme was: “How can we who work with church buildings and cemeteries operate sustainably?”.

In Trondheim, an environmentally friendly alternative to being cremated in a cremation oven is being considered, namely water cremation.

In water cremation, the deceased is placed in a container of water to which an alkaline solution is added. The mixture is heated to 160 degrees. After three to four hours, the soft tissue has dissolved and can be poured out from the container.

The bone remains are crushed and placed in an urn in the same way as with flame cremation.