Cremations in WI finally tops number of burials - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

MILWAUKEE (WKOW) -- A new report says the number of cremations in Wisconsin has finally overtaken the number of burials.

On Tuesday, the state Department of Health Services released a report saying that 47 percent of people were cremated in 2011, while 46 percent were buried

Another 6.5 percent were entombed and less than one percent donated their bodies.

The DHS report detailed statistics of 2011 deaths and death rates.

Barbara Kemmis, the executive director of the Cremation Association of North America in Wheeling, Illinois, says people across the U.S. are increasingly choosing cremation. She says in the 11 westernmost states, Utah is the only state where fewer than 51 percent of people are cremated.

She says cremation can be substantially cheaper and more environmentally friendly than burial.