Dying to be green, the freeze-dry funerals

THE technology is already used to freeze-dry coffee. But now the world’s first ‘freeze-died’

could take place in Scotland. The company behind the ultimate green scheme – which involves freezing corpses at minus 196c to make them brittle so they can be reduced to an organic powder – has already garnered interest for a pilot project.

Last week, it received backing from Friends of the Earth Scotland (FOES), which singled out the process to help save the planet.

‘Freeze-died’ funerals would be the final gesture of environmentalists wanting to cut their carbon footprint.

Cryomation uses liquid nitrogen to freeze-dry the body to remove moisture until it is brittle.

The body is then shaken and the

‘This system is much better for the planet’

residual dry powder passes through a metal separator where surgical spare parts and mercury are removed.

The remains are laid in a coffin made of corn starch and burial takes place in a shallow grave that turns the coffin and its contents into compost.

Cryomation reduces the CO2 footprint by up to 80 per cent and eliminates poisonous mercury emissions.

Stan Blackley, former chief executive of FOES, said: ‘Death may still be a taboo subject for some, but more and more people are considering the environmental impact of their dying.

‘With around 60,000 people dying in Scotland each year, we will see more and more options of this kind becoming available.’

Suffolk-based Incineration Replacement Technology (IRT) says it expects to raise the £2 million to fund the ‘preproduction’ model and first commercial cryomator within two months.

It has developed the technology together with the University of Hertfordshire and the Hosokawa Micron Group, experts in freezing and fragmentation.

IRT chairman Duncan Foster said: ‘We find eco-friendly alternatives to incineration and are looking at having four pilot sites – two in the UK – and Scotland is very much in the running for the first cryomator.

‘We have done some trials but people will not believe it can be done until they see it up and running.

‘We believe cryomation will account for 5 per cent of the funeral market. This system is much better for the planet – it is the only eco-friendly funeral system.

‘Woodland burials, for example, have problems of leeching into the water table.

‘We are on a fund-raising drive to raise £2 million and have several pledges, though we would prefer one single investor.’

Backing the method in the current issue of FOES members’ magazine What On Earth, Mr Blackley said: ‘More than three in every four of those dying each year are currently cremated, yet modern crematoria use massive amounts of energy and release large quantities of pollutants into the atmosphere.

‘By burying bodies we place large amounts of hardwoods, plastics, metals and materials such as glues and embalming chemicals into the ground.

‘Until recently the choice has been limited between cremation and burial, but this is slowly changing, with environmentally friendly options appearing on the market.’