Part of the old proverb says "but in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes". When faced with the loss of a loved one and planning a funeral, most people think of a burial in the main section of a cemetery or cremation as the only options.

The Lismore Memorial Gardens has three options with a fourth to be tabled towards the end of the year.

Option number three is the Bushland Cemetery.

Positioned towards the back of the Chapel area of Lismore Memorial Gardens there is a beautiful, natural bushland setting that offers a "green-burial" or "natural earth" burial.

(The Bushland Cemetery sign in the Lismore Memorial Gardens)

Living in a community that has a strong sustainable and regenerative belief, you can understand why this option is becoming more popular.

The common, main burial section uses coffins that are made from chipboard held together with glue and other synthetic organic compounds that break down and are released into the environment.

Cremations discharge large amounts of CO2 and other toxic substances such as dioxins and heavy metals like mercury. 

In the Bushland Cemetery, you use more natural products like wicker baskets or natural pine, in some cases, people bury their loved ones in biodegradable cotton.

The cost for a Bushland burial is less due to less ongoing maintenance to the bushland surrounds, plus you are often visited by koalas and other animals. A totally different scene to the norm.

Eighty to ninety people have been buried in this way at the Bushland Cemetery in Goonellabah.

Kevin Trustum is the Business Manager of Commercial Services for Lismore City Council, he told the Lismore App that people from Brisbane, Armidale and Tamworth have used this option in Lismore because not many regional communities offer the option.

"Byron Bay is looking into it but this is quite a unique offering for this area of NSW", he said.

"You can pick your own spot under the trees," Kevin added, "There are no headstones allowed but you can put a bush rock on top with a plaque."

Don't be shocked when you hear that you can have multiple people buried around the same tree or that you may see a star picket where someone has reserved a plot. If you find it difficult to remember which tree your loved one was buried next to, there is a GPS location service available.

The fourth option is a new concept that some will find difficult to get their head around. It involves a 25-year license on a particular gravesite.

(The main burial section of the Lismore Memorial Gardens)

Basically, you reserve a plot of land for a grave with a 25-year lease. Upon expiration, you are offered the option to continue the lease for another 25-years. If you refuse, your loved one's are exhumed and cremated then another person is buried in the same plot of land. You have the option to keep renewing for the next 25-years and so on.

Your loved one's ashes and headstone will not be discarded, if you say no, but put on a purpose-built wall in the same section that can be viewed for the future.

While this may become compulsory in a city the size of Sydney where space is at a premium and cemeteries are fast running out of burial plots, in Lismore, it will be another available option.

(The Cremation section at the Lismore Memorial Gardens)

"This option is for those people that don't want to have an impact on the community in the long term," explains Kevin Trustum.

"It is a cheaper option because you don't pay for the ongoing maintenance of the site as you would on a normal 99-year lease. These costs are built into graveside burials."

"I want to stress that this is another option, it is not compulsory and will be in another section of Lismore Memorial Gardens."

To clarify, you don't buy the land when a loved one is buried, you buy a license to lease the land.

In the future, look for the term 'renewable tenures' in reference to burial offerings.

Getting your head around change can take time, and this is a paradigm shift. Option four will be tabled for council consideration later in the year following the September Council Elections.