A LOCAL company is behind a radical move to bury people feet first at a "budget" cemetary near Ballarat.
Corangamite Council is currently reviewing a proposal for a five hectare cemetery at Derrinallum that will bury people en masse standing up.
The no-frills burial would include the pick up of corpses from a Melbourne storage depot, transport in a steel leak-proof container and an unceremonious burial in a 3m deep hole wrapped in a biodegradable bag or cloth.
Palacom, a company of 20 investors, searched for a site for its vertical cemetery for a decade before purchasing the Derrinallum farm land, 75km south-west of Ballarat.
Backed by the Darlington Cemetery Trust, Palacom purchased the land before handing it over to the government as cemeteries can not be privately owned.
Palacom chairman and Skipton resident George Lines said he believed people were willing to be buried upright if the price was right.
"Our guess is there are a substantial number of people who would be prepared to accept the unconventionality for the savings of money," Mr Lines said.
The cemetery, which will have no markers or headstones, offers savings of up to $3000.
"It's many times cheaper. As far as I know you can't get a burial done in Melbourne for less than $4000, we think $1000 would amply cover the cost of the burial by this method."
The cemetery which would house 30,000 plots would bury corpses in lots of 16 using a large post hole digger.
Darlington Cemetery Trust president Roger Cimmunig backed the plan, even if it would take business away from the Derrinallum general cemetery.
"It doesn't matter much if you're laying down or sitting there - your dead," said Mr Cimmunig.
Peter Tobin Funeral Director Chris Murnane said when it came to burying their loved ones people remained fairly conservative.
"As funeral directors we carry out the wishes of our families - as long as its not illegal.
"But personally I don't think it will be very successful."