Vienna undertakers use cremation heat

Canny undertakers in Vienna are planning to use the heat loss of cremations to heat their new headquarters.The city government-owned Bestattung Wien undertaker company said today (Fri) that its new main office at the Viennese Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) in Simmering district will be heated with waste heat produced from cremations carried out at the adjacent crematorium.The company said the concept was part of its eco-friendly approach to setting up the 30-million-Euro facility which will start operating next year.Bestattung Wien is one of several holdings which are co-managed by the Viennese government formed of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Greens. The coalition also supervises the business activities of public transport agency Wiener Linien and electricity provider Wien Energie.Freedom Party (FPÖ) Councillor David Lasar branded the undertakers’ new heating system as “distasteful nonsense”.