Roger Short of the University of Melbourne has called for an end to cremations, arguing that the environmental costs are too high. Instead, the Ozzie boffin wants the departed to be buried upright in biodegradable cardboard coffins or hessian sacks, and placed next to a tree so the remains can help it grow.

Speaking at an international conference of science journalists in Melbourne, Mr Short pointed out that the average male body produces around 50 kilograms of carbon dioxide during cremation, which involves temperatures of approximately 850 degrees. “To heat something up to that temperature … [uses] an enormous amount of natural gas,” he said before adding, “We have earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Why not earth to earth, and stop at that?”

But the funeral industry has refused to take this attack on horizontal burial lying down, arguing that people should be free to make their own ‘death-style’ choices. “People need the opportunity to choose cremation or burial,” said Brendan O’Connor, president of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Association of Victoria, Australia.

So although cremation supporters down under are turning up the heat, this hasn’t deterred Australian company, Palacom, in its efforts to imminently launch an environmentally-friendly funeral service. The process will involve bodies being placed in biodegradable bags and buried on public land that will eventually be used for grazing. However, at time of going to press, eco-burial advocates have refused to comment on the ethical impact of giving a cow a stiffy.