With finite space and an ever-growing population, what are we to do with the dead? New end-of-life technologies such as water cremation and human composting could be the answer.

Two wheelbarrows of compost or some sterile, soapy-smelling liquid – it’s somewhat unsettling to focus on the results of the new ways to dispose of bodies, of which there are around 9,000 new ones each week in England and Wales. These new techniques are akin, objectors might say, to ‘flushing Granny down the drain’ – or spreading her over the earth.

These are the end products of two ‘off the shelf’ technologies that have not yet been widely adopted: human composting and alkaline hydrolysis, the latter also known as resomation, aquamation, green cremation and water cremation. These may be greener ways to deal with dead bodies than burial or traditional cremation. But if we knew exactly what went on during these processes, we might think twice.

Filling up fast

How we mourn our dead and lay their bodies to rest is...