A local council which is employing a technique using chemicals, produced in toll processing, for eco-friendly disposal of bodies has hit a roadblock by Severn Trent Water, who are refusing to give the council a ‘trade effluent’ license.
According to The Independent, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has approved the installation of a ‘resomator’ at a local crematorium, a device which performs water cremations and that uses far less energy than traditional cremations.
The process, known as alkaline hydrolysis, uses chemicals, alongside heat and pressure, to mimic natural decomposition of a body, but in just three hours. The ‘resomator’ chamber first weighs the body, to work out the mix of chemicals required to dissolve the soft matter. The tank then fills with a highly alkaline solution, before being heated and applied with pressure to complete the process.
The liquid remnants are then tested and filtered, before being ‘flushed’ into the water supply. Teeth, bones and anything like artificial hips are taken from the chamber, ground down and given back in an urn.
These burials, which already take place in the US and Australia, have been thwarted by Severn Trent Water, who are refusing to give the appropriate license. The water sector is now waiting for guidance from Ministry of Justice and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as to how the remains of alkaline hydrolysis should be disposed of.
With temperatures up to 1150 degrees centigrade used in traditional cremations, this process only reaches temperatures of 152 degrees as is considered a ‘green’ process.