Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection into eternal life.....
Saying farewell for the last time is a painful time for the loved ones. With cemeteries running out of space, giving a dignified burial to the deceased is now becoming a serious problem. Cremations are an environmental problem anyway as they create mercury emissions costing the government a fortune as crematories have to be rebuilt with filters.
‘Promatorias’ are touted to be the futuristic and eco-friendly way of giving the deceased a dignified burial. The process known as ‘promession‘ involves freezing the body of the deceased by dipping it in liquid nitrogen at -196C until it is brittle and placing it on a vibrating mat till it disintegrates into powder. Promession is not only a biological approach to the environment it is also an economic approach to nature.
Susanne Wiigh-Masak, biologist and head of operations at Promessa Organic AB said,
The method is based upon preserving the body in a biological form after death. Then it can be returned to the ecological cycle in a dignified manner as a valuable contribution to the living earth.
The idea behind this is that the human body is made up of seventy percent of water. By freeze drying the body in liquid nitrogen, the water content is removed making the body very brittle. The organic powder which is the outcome of the vibrations is passed through a metal separator where any surgical parts and mercury are removed. The organic powder that is hygienic and odorless is laid in a biodegradable coggin which turns into compost in about 6-12 months time.
