Pam and Neil Thorne spend a lot of time contemplating their deaths.

Key points: Natural burials involve biodegradable coffins or shrouds, shallow graves, and no use of preserving chemicals

Natural burials involve biodegradable coffins or shrouds, shallow graves, and no use of preserving chemicals They are permitted under current Tasmanian legislation as long as bodies are covered in a metre of soil

They are permitted under current Tasmanian legislation as long as bodies are covered in a metre of soil Advocates want a standalone, dedicated natural burial site in Tasmania

They're both undergoing treatment for cancer, with Pam, aged 79, suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Neil, aged 83, battling prostate cancer.

The Tasmanian couple has made up their minds they're not being buried in a traditional cemetery.

"As a child I was taken to the cemetery every Sunday afternoon to visit my grandmother, and I honestly think that's probably what turned me off cemeteries," Mrs Thorne said.

The couple is also mindful of the environment, and after considering all their options, have settled on natural burials.

Pam and Neil Thorne don't want to be buried in a traditional cemetery. ( ABC News: Annah Fromberg )

"It's better than cremation because of the pollution and the energy it takes to burn a body," Mrs Thorne said.

"For us, natural burial is definitely the smartest option," Mr Thorne added.

Independent funeral director Rebecca Lyons said there was a growing interest in natural burials, as people became more aware of their environmental footprint and the costs of conventional burials.

"Everywhere I go, everyone I talk to is keen to know how to do it, [whether it's available and] where they can get it done," she said.

"There are organisations and groups springing up to try to make it happen."

Ms Lyons was last year awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study burial grounds around the world as well as the human relationship to death and ceremony through alternative approaches to ceremony and body disposal techniques.

"Some burial grounds have markers, stones that are native to that area, and they engrave those stones and lay them at the head of the burial site," she said.

"Other places just use GPS so you get a coordinate."

Funeral director Rebecca Lyons is studying burial grounds around the world. ( ABC News: Annah Fromberg )

She said while natural burials were standard in the Eastern world, they were becoming increasingly common in Western countries too.

In the United Kingdom, there are more than 200 dedicated sites.

"The old adage of 'six foot under' is bad for the environment, and it's not what happens in a lot of places around the world," she said.

Ms Lyons said while Kingston, in Hobart's south, had a bushland burial site, some preserving chemicals were still used in body preparation, and the graves were at a regulation depth.

'Peace pods' and shrouds a biodegradable alternative

Sculptor Mea Souris has spent the past five years refining her "peace pods", environmentally friendly caskets for burial that cost about $1,000.

"The main material is recycled paper, a little bit of ply wood, leather straps for handles, and simple hessian," she said.

Sculptor Mea Souris spent five years refining her "peace pods" and has now developed a shroud carriage. ( ABC News: Brian Tegg )

She has now developed a shroud carriage to help transport people who only want to be wrapped in a fabric shroud, which she is planning to sell for about $300.

The former marriage and funeral celebrant said people were becoming more conscious of the environment.

"I think it's about 'let's look after nature', and also people are beginning to remember mythology and family stories, and how these sorts of celebrations of life were shared within family in other eras not so long ago," Ms Souris said.

Mrs Thorne is making her own shroud from recycled paper.

Natural burial involve biodegradable coffins, and these "peace pods" by sculptor Mea Souris are made from recycled paper and plywood. ( ABC News: Brian Tegg )

The paper artist with Aboriginal heritage is using Indigenous techniques to knit it together with paper from old sewing patterns.

She would like to buried in a standalone natural burial site.

"People can plant native trees, there's no headstones. I just think it would be so nice for the family if we were in a park-like setting instead of the plastic flowers and the regimentation of a traditional cemetery," Mrs Thorne said.

Fears new laws will stymie attempts to establish a standalone site

Natural burials are permitted until current legislation as long as bodies are covered in a metre of soil, but there aren't any dedicated sites in Tasmania where people can be buried.

A lobby group in Burnie called Groundbreakers was successful in convincing its council to pass a motion for a dedicated natural burial ground three years ago.

But land is yet to be identified, and the group's Lyndal Thorne is worried it will soon be too late.

Lyndal Thorne is part of a community lobby group called Groundbreakers. ( ABC News: Annah Fromberg )

There are fears the new draft Burials and Cremations Act 2019 will make it more difficult for the establishment of a new burial ground.

Ms Thorne said leaseholds were being tightened and proposed changes to the legislation would make it more difficult.

"You have to hold that land in trust, and what that means is you have to be the cemetery owner of the land, and the manager, and that makes it really difficult for little groups of people who want to get together and do something natural and beautiful," she said.

Tasmanian cemetery managers are also required under state law to be a body corporate with perpetual succession, meaning the organisation will continue to exist beyond death, bankruptcy and other alternatives.

Ms Thorne said she didn't understand why the change requiring a body corporate was necessary and called for the Government to undertake more consultation.

"[Natural burials] are a growing trend, it's a worldwide trend, and I do see that as this legislation is being written at the moment it's perhaps a missed opportunity," she said.

Natural burials are permitted in traditional cemeteries but advocates want a standalone site. ( ABC News: Annah Fromberg )

In a statement, the Tasmanian Government said natural burials were legal in the state and were offered at a number of cemeteries.

It said the requirement that a cemetery was owned and managed by the same entity was "not a new requirement" and reflected the principle that when dealing with the land "a cemetery manger's priority should act in the interests of the cemetery, rather than in their own interests".

The Government said the requirement for a cemetery manager to be a body corporate was introduced last year to ensure the manager was a "fit and proper person" and that "the right to honour the deceased" was "intergenerational".