The cremation was institutionalized in Asia by Buddhism and Hinduism and is the funeral most commonly used by humans. In the West and in Westernized countries, cremation is carried out in a crematorium. The body is placed in a coffin and then in a furnace heated to 850 ° C, the cremation takes about 90 minutes.

In Israel, the use of crematoriums is very frowned upon because it recalls the furnaces of the extermination camps. The Catholic Church has only allowed cremation since 1963.

The ashes from cremation are mostly made up of the limestone from bones. In practice the cremation takes place at a temperature of 850 degrees subject to a high intake of fresh air for combustion. The wooden coffin, clothes, everything is transformed into gas or dust.

Around 21 are scattered in a Garden of Remembrance and 71 of deaths) and Hong Kong (86. In several European countries, the rate is very high: Switzerland (78.8), Denmark (73.8), Spain (19.3%)

In cultures where cremation is traditional, it is sometimes a way to send the dead to heaven (literally and symbolically). Some Native American tribes once ate the ashes of the dead, in what appeared to be a way to reinstate the spirit and qualities of the dead within the living relatives.

From carbon it is possible to extract carbon residual ash, and one company has started to convert this carbon into a synthetic diamond, for the bereaved to keep, the diamond is a symbol of purity, hardness and durability.

Crematoria are often presented as ecological solutions in the sense that they can save space and limit the problems of pathogens, or contamination of groundwater or occupation of space. These arguments are admissible, but pose a few problems.

Cremation consumes significant amounts of fuel (natural gas, fuel, or wood in countries where wood is used), which contributes to a production of carbon dioxide and other gases or particles whose impacts are not been measured.

Corpses if we want to come near to giving them the appearance of life by means of embalming, have been or are still sometimes embalmed or treated with highly toxic products containing pesticides or biocides such as formaldehyde and paraformaldehyde, highly toxic products, fungicides, bactericides, virucides.

In India an estimated 8.5 million cremations take place each year, which releases 8 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.