Boil in the Bag cremation, a method dissolving bodies into sterile liquid and bone powder, may soon launch in the UK. This alkaline hydrolysis process, already available in 30 US states and Ireland, destroys all DNA in under 4 hours. “The human body, liquefied, smells like steamed clams,” one observer noted, as 330 gallons of brown liquid swirl away.

Instead of gas and flames, this water cremation uses heated potassium hydroxide to break down the body, releasing just 28kg CO2—far less than fire cremations. The resulting bone powder is returned in an urn, while the liquid vanishes down the drain. “Mixing up my loved one with poo in the sewer” sums up some reactions.

Each water cremation produces about 330 gallons of brown liquid—described as “weak tea”—that’s sterilized and flushed, while softened bones are ground into powder for the family, leaving not a trace of DNA behind.