Is using concrete to build reef balls an eco-friendly way to be buried?Elizabeth Wyman, Chicago, IL Whether one’s final resting place is on land or at sea, the burial process can be surprisingly energy and chemically intensive. Yet there are some environmentally friendly alternatives, like burials in biodegradable caskets or at sea, and reef balls may prove to be one of them. Those who opt for interment in an artificial reef are first cremated. Then their ashes are mixed with concrete and molded into a reef ball—a hollow, holey structure that’s up to six feet wide and five feet tall. It sits on the seafloor, ideally creating marine habitat and preventing erosion. Family members often hold a memorial service when the reef ball is placed offshore. A number of companies partner with the Reef Ball Foundation, a nonprofit focused on reef rehabilitation, for such burials. (The foundation doesn’t just do interments—in April, for instance, to prevent erosion, it installed...