Cattle Carcasses Heat British Town

A Swedish town announced last month that it will use cremated bodies to provide heat, and now the British town of Reepham has decided to heat many of its buildings by burning oil made from melted cow and pig carcasses. Are dead bodies— human or otherwise— the next big thing in heating?

Probably not, since carcasses and crematoriums are in limited supply. But Reepham’s scheme, at least, has a relatively low carbon footprint.

The town is using cooking oil and tallow (melted fatty remains) mixed with fossil fuels to make a biofuel blend. Eighty percent of tallow’s carbon footprint comes from making the animals and their fat, so why not use the carcasses if people will eat the meat beforehand anyway?

Children in Reepham schools will have the chance to observe cuts in carbon emissions with energy monitors placed in each classroom, but it’s doubtful that the kids will find out exactly where their heat is coming from.

Photo Credit: CC-Licensed by Flickr user law kevin

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One Comment

  1. At Last! Recognition we are a wasteful society and a practical application to stop it! here’s hoping the remaining awful is anaerobically bio-digested with human sewage to get bio-gas for the school buses! Bravo! Save the planet and save some cash at the same time! Now, Compost school wastes for local garden fertilizers, eat less beef, more pork, chicken, fish and veggies and compete like hell for better marks than your Chinese, and vegetarian Indian counterparts! We may be able to save our civilization, and survive the 21st Century after all - no feelings of entitlement or superiority are allowed, This is not a National based race, we are in a Science based death struggle with some of the smartest and most economical people in the world - we have it all, they have nothing, they want what we have - New game, not your parents game, your game, now win or die!

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