What’s Going On Here?
Ever thought of your environmental impact after you die? In an industry increasingly damaging to the environment, it seems that some in the funeral market have!
Leeds-based company Resomation have developed a more environmentally friendly way to be laid to rest: the Resomator.
What Does This Mean?
The Resomator facilitates a process called ‘water cremation’, where the body is placed in a water-based solution to accelerate the natural process the body undergoes at the end of life. Resomation like to think of it as returning the body back into its original biological components, after which they can be recycled and reused in our ecosystems! Even the wastewater can be used as fertiliser due to its high nutrient content, pretty cool eh?!
According to Dean Fisher, a doctor at the University of California, “Everything about this process is a win-win, everything is recyclable”.
Why Should We Care?
The best bit about this process is that it is the most sustainable end of life option! Traditional burial often involves the use of harmful, sometimes carcinogenic embalming chemicals that can pollute groundwater supplies (eg. Formaldehyde). Flame cremation, of which 75% of Britons opt for, can release as much as 400kg of climate-warming CO2 into the atmosphere (per body!), as well as lots of other toxic stuff such as Mercury (tooth fillings believe it or not!).
Replacing a traditional flame cremation with a water-based one reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 35% and requires <20% of the electricity and gas needs of a traditional cremation. Meanwhile, the environmental cost of the Resomator is only £3 per body, compared to £63 per body if buried or cremated!
Be Curious!
Now we aren’t here to tell you how to leave your body on this Earth. However it is worth considering whether there is a more sustainable alternative available! You can learn more about the Resomator here, or check out some other eco-friendly funeral ideas.
