After following a cheesy website article on 7 odd alternative burial methods, I came across a method known as resomation. Resomation is a patent-pending, environmentally friendly way to be cremated. Instead of the body being burnt (which releases toxins into the air), or being buried in a coffin (which can be expensive and also detremental to the environment), resomation is the placement of the body in a water and alkali based method (aka alkaline hydrolysis) that breaks the body down into a sterile liquid and bone substance. The whole process takes about 2-3 hours which is the same amount of time as a cremation. The sterile liquid is returned to the water cycle and the ashes are placed in an urn and given to loved ones. The following picture is of the finished production of resomation and can be found on the website link given at the end of this entry.
Some benefits of resomation include:
*the reduction of a funeral's greenhouse gas emissions by 35%
*the energy needed for resomation is 1/7 the energy of cremation
*the return of sterile water to the water cycle
*the reduction of space used in burials
Resomation is still patent-pending and is only available in Maryland, Minnesota, Maine, Colorado, Oregon, and California; but, resomation is in the process of becoming a popular and world wide funerary practice. Below is a link to the Resomation Ltd. website for more information
http://www.resomation.com/index_files/Page1230.htm
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