Green burial

Green burial means caring for the dead with as little harm to the environment as possible. The Green Burial Council describes it as avoiding toxic embalming and vaults, choosing biodegradable caskets, shrouds and urns, and keeping herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers off the land.

Singapore needs its own version of this. About 82% of people who die here are cremated. Since 1 November 1998, burial has been limited to 15 years, and Choa Chu Kang is the only cemetery still open for burials. Natural burial grounds, where a body stays in the earth for good, do not fit easily with those limits.

Cremation has a footprint too, though estimates vary. A Dutch life-cycle study commissioned by a funeral organization put it at about 80 kg of CO₂e, while a UK model put a gas cremation at 245 kg of CO₂. Neither study measured Singapore’s crematoria.

Scattering does not remove the emissions from cremation. It changes what happens to the ashes afterward.

• Scatter ashes on land

  NEA runs two inland scattering gardens: the Garden of Peace at Choa Chu Kang, opened in May 2021, and the Garden of Serenity at Mandai North, opened in August 2025. Only fine ashes can be scattered. The rules do not allow monuments or burnt offerings.

• Scatter ashes at sea

  The designated site is 3.2 km east of Raffles Lighthouse, open from 7am to 7pm daily. Plastics and other synthetic materials must not go into the sea. NEA plans a two-year pilot ferry service from Pasir Panjang from the second half of 2027.

• Choose biodegradable materials

  Ask your funeral provider about biodegradable caskets, shrouds and urns in place of plastics and other synthetic materials.

• Ask whether embalming is needed

  Green burial avoids toxic embalming, so ask your provider whether it is necessary for your plans before you agree to it.

• Watch water cremation

  Water cremation, or alkaline hydrolysis, came out lowest for greenhouse gases in the same Dutch study. In Singapore, we have only seen it reported for pets, and we have found no sign that it is offered for people here.

Sources accessed on 31 October 2026.