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Tony Cottiero, co-owner of Burial At Sea: Photo by Diane OrsonThe Federated Funeral Directors of America estimates the average cost of a funeral today to be more than $7000 dollars, up more $700 in the past three years. There can also be additional fees: clergy, newspaper obituaries, flowers. Some families are looking at less expensive ways to say goodbye to a loved one. WNPR profiles one small business along Connecticut’s shoreline.

Nestled among the many boats docked at New Haven’s Oyster Point Marina, The Mister Sea rocks gently back and forth. Owner Tony Cottiero is preparing for a burial on the water.

"We’re going to scatter some ashes right near this breakwall, where this gentleman who had passed away, it was a favorite fishing spot."

Cottiero is co-owner of Burial at Sea, a small business that scatters ashes on Long Island Sound. Most of the time, family members join him for the ceremony, but today’s family chose not to. He holds the remains of the deceased in a small blue box trimmed with green ribbon.

"He was a professional an attorney and he loved the water. He had a small boat and did quite a bit of fishing."

Cottiero steers the Mr. Sea out onto the Sound.

About 75% of families still choose traditional in-ground burials, but there’ve been sea burials for thousands of years… and more people are returning to the idea, in part because it can be less expensive than a traditional funeral. Cottiero’s fee ranges between $400 to $500.

He shuts down the engines.

"I’m going to get ready to scatter the ashes off the starboard side of the boat. And then I’ll distribute the tiger lilies. And I’m going to say a silent prayer now which the family requested me to do."

He leans down and tosses the ashes overboard. They float lightly on the waves then he releases flowers that slowly drift away. Cottiero says its more than a business.

"Well its bringing closure to a family and I enjoy being on the water..as I say I grew up on the water and it just gives me some satisfaction that I’m doing something for other human beings."

As baby boomers age, America’s death rate is rising. Diana Duksa Kurz, owner of Newington Memorial Funeral Home, says many people are exploring alternatives to conventional funerals…and cost isn’t the only reason.

"The ties that families have to tradition and to religion are becoming weaker. These certainly have an effect on a family’s desire or a personal choice to choose cremation. And I think that the environmental considerations are becoming more and more important."

Supporters of an emerging green burial movement advocate for less expensive, eco-friendly alternatives to traditional in-ground burials. They skip the embalming fluid, metal caskets and concrete burial vaults that are usually interred in the earth along with the deceased. The cremation process does burn fossil fuels and can release some toxic chemicals, but advocates say overall, it uses fewer resources.

Back at Oyster Point Marina, Cottiero ties up his boat. He says lately, he’s been thinking about his own final resting place.

"I’ll probably end up you know, my favorite fishing area somewhere in Long Island. My ashes scattered."

Cottiero performs about 50 burials at sea each year. Each family receives a notarized certificate documenting how the ashes were scattered and a small bottle of sea water.