DEATH is not usually a topic people like to talk about - but that did not stop hundreds turning out to find out more about a radical alternative to burial and cremation.

People from all over the country travelled to Crewe and Nantwich on Wednesday to hear lectures from the woman behind a new technique called promession.

Susanne Wiigh-Masak, 49, flew from her native Sweden to talk at Crewe's Lyceum Theatre and Nantwich Civic Hall.

The lectures from the renowned biologist and ecolo-gist were organised by the borough council as part of its investigations into possibly becoming the first authority in the UK to offer promession.

Interest in the process stems in part from the need to cut down on crematorium mercury emissions - caused by tooth amalgam in fillings being vaporised - as part of new EU guidelines.

But Susanne explained the potential benefits of her deep-freeze approach go much further in benefits to the environment.

She said: 'As a biologist I am passionate about composting and about the soil in general.

'It might seem strange that I am starting a talk like this discussing compost, but it all starts with the soil.

'In a sense we are all involved in the process of composting. We are nourished from the earth and we all return to it eventually one way or the other.'

Susanne explained conventional ways of laying the dead to rest do not make the best use of nature's processes.

Burial leads to the slow and unpleasant process of rotting which, in the absence of oxygen, can leave nasty after-products, while cremation leaves ashes which are difficult to recycle.

She added: 'What I call mulching is nature's plan A. It is part of the process of life which breaks things down when they die so plants can use the chemicals again, and then animals can eat the plants and so on.

'We are a planet of six billion people all taking from the earth, and I feel it is important we put something back.'

By freezing a body to around 196°C using liquid nitrogen, explained Susanne, it becomes brittle enough to be shaken easily to a fine dust.

These remains can then be buried and will quickly be absorbed back into the soil.

Her ideas were received warmly by those who attended.

Nantwich funeral director Graham Tresidder said: 'It is very interesting. I think the council should definitely look into it.'

David Marren, head of the council's direct services department, said: 'We are a long way off deciding whether to pursue this option. But it is certainly very interesting and we will monitor the situation closely.'

Promession facility in the pipeline

THE world's first promession facility is due to be up and running in the Swedish town of Jönköping by the end of the year.

The event will mark the culmination of five years of hard work by biologist Susanne Wiigh-Masak, first developing and then selling her idea.

It will also be a moment watched closely by parties worldwide, not least in Crewe and Nantwich, keen to see if the promise of promession can be kept.

Susanne told the Chronicle: 'It is wonderful how much interest there has been in it already. The reason why I set out giving lectures even before the first promession facility was up and running was because I wanted to start a debate. 'There is a lot of fear over death, but we have to think about it sensibly.'

Susanne accepts practical elements still need to be tested, including cost.

But she pointed out the reason Jönköping had opted to try it was because authorities estimated it would be half the cost of building a new crematorium to accommodate mercury gas filters now required by EU law.

That could be the same situation Crewe and Nantwich finds itself in.

Susanne added: 'In Sweden, a cremation with mercury abatement costs around 250 Euros. We believe promession will cost about the same, between 240 and 290 Euros.'

Long term, she is hoping all interested parties in the UK, Canada, USA, South Africa and Asia pursue her ideas.