When we die, we can choose to be either buried or cremated but soon there could be another option.
A Christchurch company is hoping to introduce alkaline hydrolysis - or water cremation - which is already used in several places around the world.
Zeta and John Laurie have been married for 70 years. At 92 and 91 years old, they've shared a love of gardening and tramping.
"We both have an affiliation with water because as young people we were swimmers," John told Newshub.
Eager to keep their love for the environment right to the end, they've asked to be cremated in water.
"I'm very concerned about global warming and I do wish that we could somehow have a global ban on smoke emissions," Zeta said.
Water cremation isn't new, it was first patented in the 1880s. Over three to four hours a body is dissolved in a solution.
"At the end of the process the bones are left behind and are given back to the family as pure white ash," said Deborah Richards, the founder of Water Cremation Aotearoa New Zealand.
The leftover liquid is sterile.
"It doesn't contain any DNA. It is our body's basic building blocks - amino acids, salts and this is released back into the water cycle via the water treatment system," Richards said.
It's already legal in several countries around the world. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was 'aquamated' in 2021. But it's not offered here.
"It emits six times less carbon and it uses seven times less energy than flame cremation," Richards said.
Water Cremation Aotearoa has received resource consent and is working with the Ministry of Health to overhaul the Burial and Cremation Act 1964.
"A lot of our families are telling us they want more options for them across the deathcare industry so we believe there will be demand for this option," said Gillian Boyes, CEO of the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand.
"I do hope that it comes here soon because I do want to be water cremated. I'd prefer to be kept on ice if that's available, if that's the case," Zeta said. "It's the way of the future."
Which could be here as early as the end of the year.
