Thousands of Americans are choosing "green" burial — which eschews chemical embalming as well as materials like concrete or metal which come with climate-harming carbon footprints — each year
Cindy Armstrong is pictured with a bag containing the composted remains of her son Andrew Armstrong at her home in Covington, Washington on March 15, 2022. Armstrong recalled her son Andrew insisting on the so-called "terramation" process after the western state of Washington in 2019 became the first in the United States to make it a legal alternative to cremation. (Credit: Jason Redmond / AFP)
Kent, United States: A woodpecker settled on a branch overhead as Cindy Armstrong stood near a grouping of trees, gazing at a patch of soil that contained bits of her son's composted remains.
Armstrong is one of a growing number of Americans embracing environmentally low-impact burials for their loved ones.
Armstrong recalled that her son Andrew insisted on the so-called "terramation" process after the western state of Washington became the first in the United States to make the practice a legal alternative to cremation in 2019.
"I was mortified," she told AFP. "Now that I've gone through the process, I'm all for this. I will be terramated."