Burning granny's body to warm the house a bad idea

Recycling is a great way to save money, and in Denmark, some crematoriums have a new idea they want to try -- recycling crematorium heat. While finding that "burning granny especially to warm radiators would be indecent and illegal," the Danish Council of Ethics found no ethical reason to oppose recycling heat, according to the Economist.

Fifteen crematoriums in Denmark have said they favor sending waste heat into local heating systems. What's unclear in the Economist story is if the waste heat will come from burning bodies, or some other energy source.

New regulations that take effect in 2011 require the Dutch crematoriums to filter out toxic substances such as dioxins and mercury from waste gases. To do this they must use water to cool chimney gases. Their plan is to then capture and use the excess energy from the cooling process.