There are alternatives to a traditional burial or cremation. Check out our previous blog – Innovative ways of saving the planet after you die
Bu there is now another alternative which is being marketed as a ‘Green Cremation’.
This “gentle, eco-friendly alternative to flame-based cremation” uses an alkaline solution made with potassium hydroxide to reduce a body to a skeleton and could be available in the UK soon.
But why do we need to look at alternatives?
In some countries, space for cemeteries is running out. In the UK alone, it is estimated that half of cemeteries will be full in the next 20 years.
In parts of London, councils no longer offer a burial service, and the city has even had to start re-using grave space, lowering bodies further into the ground and placing new ones on top.
The use of land for burial – and the constant upkeep of that land – has an environmental impact. Burial also typically calls for natural resources.
As for Cremation, well, it is an incredibly energy-intensive process, and it also releases a significant amount of greenhouse gases and toxins into the environment.
In the UK, for example, cremation is responsible for 16 percent of the country’s mercury pollution thanks to all our old dental fillings.
You can check out more about it here on the BBC Website – Dissolving the dead
