People in the US have started dissolving loved ones’ dead bodies as a greener alternative to burying or cremating them
While alkaline hydrolysis hasn’t caught on widely yet, some consider it the burial method of the future
By Lydia Ramsey
When it comes to putting loved ones in their final resting places, our choice has long been whether to bury a body or cremate it.
But a third option has been gaining attention recently: Alkaline hydrolysis, which involves dissolving a body in a liquid solution. The process leaves behind bones that can be ground into ash using much less energy than cremation.
Though it sounds a bit gruesome, the approach offers many benefits.
“This by far is the most environmentally friendly choice” Dean Fisher, director of the Donated Body Programme at UCLA told Wired.
While alkaline hydrolysis has been used by some medical schools, it’s not something you’ll find at most funeral homes. It’s more commonly used to dispose of animals, though some places, like the Anderson-McQueen funeral home in St. Petersburg, Florida are doing it commercially.