Scotland has become the first country in the UK where water cremations are now legal.
The process - called alkaline hydrolysis - will offer families a third option instead of burial or traditional cremation.
The process involves weighing the body, then heating it to 150C (300F) in a mixture of potassium hydroxide and water for up to 90 minutes.
This dissolves the body tissue, leaving only the bones - which are then rinsed at 120C, dried, and pulverised into a coarse powder using a machine called a cremulator.
Remains can be returned to next of kin, as ashes are following cremation.
The process is used in other countries around the world and was chosen as the cremation method of anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said it was an "environmentally friendly alternative" to more traditional burials or cremations.
Source: BBC
