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Eco-Friendly Finales

Having your body freeze-dried instead of cremated may reduce carbon and mercury emissions, Helen Knight finds in her look at how to make funerals more eco-friendly.
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Having your body freeze-dried instead of cremated may reduce carbon and mercury emissions, Helen Knight finds in her look at how to make funerals more eco-friendly. “Think of it as a last chance to reduce your carbon footprint,” she urges. Each cremation produces around 150 kilograms of CO2 and also releases toxic chemicals, such as mercury from dental fillings. Freeze-drying helps get around this but still uses up land. “Is our society ready for our mortal remains to be utilised as fertiliser, or harrowed into crop fields?” one scientist asks.

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