A British town council said Tuesday it had approved
plans to use the heat from a crematorium to warm up the swimming
pool next door.
The local authority in Redditch, a town outside Birmingham in
central England, reckons the move will cut energy waste.
Work on a link between the town's crematorium and its new
leisure centre will begin later this year following the council
decision.
A senior official from Unison, Britain's second biggest trade
union, has called the plan "sick", "insulting and insensitive".
However, Redditch Borough Council leader Carole Gandy said
correspondence showed that up to nine in 10 locals were in favour
of the idea.
"Many respondents have in fact praised the council for being so
innovative and for being willing to discuss the idea openly," she
said.
"We have been careful to explain how the technology would work,
that it is tried and trusted, and that the practice is quite common
in parts of Europe and especially in Sweden."
The heating scheme will be the first of its kind in Britain.
The council said the plan will save more than �14,000 ($22,500,
16,500 euros) a year.