Thinking about it is as frightening as it gets, and what comes to mind when picturing one’s funeral is the same for most of us at least in the Western culture. A deep hole in the ground, a fancy wooden casket being slowly (hopefully by robots by the time we get there) dragged down it, gloomy black clothed people around telling awesome stories about who we were and all the things we loved and hated.There is only one entirely true fact that is common to all people around the world regardless of gender, age, or race –  We are all going to die someday.

What could be different, though, is the way our last remains will change from that good-looking person everybody will be telling cool stories from generation to generation, to a new unrecognizable state of matter. With the cemeteries all around the world beginning to over-crowd, the toxic chemicals involved in embalming and the excessive wood waste used in caskets that will then be left underground to be useless comfy beds for someone that (hot news!) will not be able to feel comfortable anymore continues to be a rising environmental concern.

Here are some interesting things you can do with your body after you die:

1) A Diamond

If you are into Harry Potter, maybe you’ll find the idea of having your earthly remains turned into a bright piece of diamond jewelry somewhat appealing. Sadly, there aren’t magic spells to keep you living inside a pair of earrings, but at least you will be the first pair of earrings passed from generation to generation to have a story worth telling in your family. The prices for this process range between $3,000 to $20,000 (cremation costs are not included) and some companies like LifeGem and My Sacred Ashes even include bulk discounts if you order multiple pieces, as creepy as that may sound.

2) Shoot your body to the skies

Maybe you are not that into diamonds and your kind of shine comes from the stars of a clear night sky. If so, you’ll be thrilled to know you can shoot your ashes to the moon and even deeper into space for prices ranging from $1,300 and up. Celestis Memorial Spaceflights have been “Fulfilling the dream of Spaceflight Afterlife,” as it is written in their webpage,  since 1997. Now, if you are into rockets and explosions, but not so much into space, you can hire the services of Heavens Above, a company that will make really pretty firework displays with your ashes, ‘cause baby, you are an actual firework.  

3) DIY Eco Friendly Caskets

If there’s something true about funerals, it’s that they are not cheap. According to pbs.org, Americans spend approximately $20 billion per year in the U.S. general funeral market, with a typical funeral in the U.S. costing between $8,000 and $10,000 of which $3,000 goes to caskets. Fantastic Casket, founded by artist Katrina Brees, designs and teaches how to make your own ecological custom casket, decreasing the costs of caskets and helping the environment at the same time.

4) Become a Tree

Forget coffins and gloomy gravestones, now you can actually take your ashes and become soil for a forest. The Bios Urn takes your ashes and turns them into a tree. The ashes are stored down below a mix where a seed of your favorite tree  is embedded where it will grow slowly using your ashes as nourishment. An alternative can be the Capsula Mundi Project, developed by Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel. The Capsula Mundi will turn the entire body into nutrients for a tree that will be produced out of its remains.

5) Donate your Body to Science

If you are not into spirituality and after death rituals, maybe the better (and cheapest) choice would be to donate your body to science. The University of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Center includes a “body farm” program with a two-acre field of corpses where students and professionals learn about decomposition. You can access the paperwork online and the process is totally free of charge for the donor. This is a great alternative, and the best part is that you can still donate your organs to people needing transplants.