The eco-friendly crematorium that of fers to f lush your loved ones down the drain

UNLESS you plan to blast the ashes off into space, most of us opt for a simple burial or cremation when it comes to saying goodbye to a loved one.

But soon, there could be another option in the pipeline.

A crematorium is hoping to be the first in the UK to dispose of the dead by liquifying them – and then flushing the dissolved matter down the drain.

In the eco-friendly ‘water cremation’, the body is placed into a steel torpedolike chamber, where it is dissolved in an alkaline solution heated to 152C.

Rowley Regis crematorium, near Birmingham, is hoping to adopt the £300,000 (€340,000) technique – already used in parts of the US – after being given planning permission by councillors. However, the scheme is being blocked by water company Severn Trent, which is refusing to grant a ‘trade effluent’ permit. Bosses at the utility say the document only covers waste disposal – not dissolved bodies.

Water UK, which represents suppliers, said the public may also find the idea of human remains going into the water system ‘distasteful’.

The process takes place in a machine known as the Resomator, which turns

‘We are just copying nature’

corpses into softened bone and a teacoloured liquid in just over three hours. The bones are ground to powder and given to the family in an urn, while the rest of the liquid – about 330 gallons – is flushed down the drain.

UK company Resomation, which builds the machines in west Yorkshire, said ‘dozens’ of crematoria across Britain had shown an interest in installing the technology.

Founder Sandy Sullivan said he hoped the first water cremations would begin around late spring.

The 61-year-old biochemist said: ‘There is no technical reason why the liquid can’t go down the drain. It is a very treatable organic liquid. It is sterile and there is no DNA in it.

‘We are copying nature. The body dissolves by soil bacteria and it is a very long process. All we are doing is taking the exact same chemistry and applying heat, which speeds it up. This is a third option, other than cremation and burial.’

However, a source at Water UK said: ‘We are not convinced and believe the technology needs to be explored in much greater depth.

‘This is a first in the UK. We have serious concerns about the public acceptability of this. It is the liquefied remains of the dead going into the water system. We don’t think the public will like the idea.’

The local council said: ‘The funeral industry is evolving and modernising and we want to offer more choice. Water cremation is the next phase in this evolution and would give people a more environmentally friendly option.’

Resomation has sold four of the machines to crematoria in the US – in Florida, Minnesota, California and Chicago. It is advertised as the ‘new, flameless cremation option’, which gives the relative a way to ‘honour your loved one in a way that’s right for you’.

Another innovation in eco-burial is Promession, or freeze-drying. Invented by a Swede, the corpse is immersed in liquid nitrogen to make it brittle. Vibrations shake the body apart and the powdered remains are then laid to rest in a shallow grave.