Today, a number of funeral services involve the process of cremation, because families find that it meets one or more expectations such as:
a. the perception that cremation is less expensive
b. the perception that cremation is more environmentally friendly, and/or takes up less room on the planet
c. the desire to avoid earth burial

However, the choice of cremation is not necessarily less expensive, better for the environment, or less offensive than earth burial – it is simply an alternative that one may choose as a final method of taking care of the body.