Keepsakes associated with cremation The most common purchase associated with cremation is an urn to hold the ashes. Keepsake urns are kept for lengthy periods and must be sturdy enough for this purpose; they are often carefully chosen works of art. Make sure clients are able to distinguish a keepsake urn from an eco-friendly biodegradable urn. Urns come in many shapes and sizes. Most urns have removable tops to allow placement of the ashes. Environmentally friendly urns are made from sustainable materials, like bamboo, a rapidly renewable wood. Some urns guarantee that they are made from at least 50% recycled materials. One urn type is made from postconsumer recycled plastics and claims to use the equivalent of 40 recycled one- gallon milk jugs. Another type of urn has a semiporous top in which a tree seedling can be planted. Some urns are specially designed for scattering ashes on the ocean or other large bodies of waters. They float three to five minutes before sinking to the ocean floor and biodegrading. Urns placed in bodies of water may be made with unfired clay that is painted with water- soluble colors, suitable for burial or scattering at sea.
Keepsake and memory boxes are also perfect for keeping a few mementos, such as a photo, and can store a small sachet of the individual’s ashes, if desired. Cremation jewelry is designed to hold some cremated ashes and comes in the form of pendants, bracelets, and other items that have a small container. Most cremation jewelry is worn, but home display options, such as glass cases, are available. Other creative cremation options include: ● Fireworks. ● Launched into space. ● Placed in helium balloons. ● Placed in an hourglass. ● Generated into a diamond. ● Mixed into paint. ● Made into hand-blown or stained glass. ● Mixed in tattoo ink. ● Made into a vinyl record. ● Planted as a tree.
ALTERNATIVES TO CREMATION
Resomation or alkaline hydrolysis A new process called alkaline hydrolysis (AH) is available in some states and may soon be available in others. This process may also be called biocremation , resomation , aquamation , green cremation, flameless cremation , or water cremation . Alkaline hydrolysis is a chemical process that uses a solution of 95% water and 5% potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide to reduce a body to liquids and bone. Embalming fluid and chemotherapeutic drugs are neutralized during the process. A funeral involving resomation is similar to those involving cremation until the point at which the coffin is removed from view. The whole process takes about three to four hours. The following steps are from the Resomation website (Resomation, 2016): 1. First, the body is placed in a stainless-steel container, that is, a resomation unit, that automatically weighs the body and calculates the appropriate amount of water and alkali needed. It then fills the vessel with a solution of lye and potassium hydroxide heated from 300 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit by steam passing through an internal coil. The vessel is agitated, and the potassium hydroxide solution is mixed throughout the process to encourage rapid decomposition. 2. Temperatures up to 370 degrees Fahrenheit are maintained for an hour before the vessel is cooled via a water recirculation pump for another hour. When the process is complete, the vessel is drained, leaving bone fragments and a sterile, environmentally neutral liquid consisting of amino acids, peptides, sugars, and salts. The liquid can be used as fertilizer and is safe enough to be poured down a drain. After resomation, bone fragments are bleached in appearance and are whiter than cremation remains (cremains). Like the liquid, the ash can be used in horticulture as fertilizer. Unlike other processes, resomation allows a body to be fully returned to the Earth without adding unwanted materials to the soil. Implants and prosthetics are left behind, and some remain reusable after sterilization and repackaging. Many have uncomfortably analogized this process to “pouring bodies down the drain.” But this is a characterization that often overlooks the fact that body fluids and blood are routinely poured down the drain during traditional embalming practices (Irving, 2016). Resomation takes roughly the same amount of time as cremation but uses less energy, produces significantly less CO2, and does not release mercury or other harmful contaminants into the atmosphere. The total carbon footprint
of a resomation is 18 times less than that of cremation, and it is a 100% mercury-free process, unlike embalming or cremation. The resomation unit is designed to work easily to accommodate a traditional ceremony. The body is placed in a coffin lined with a silk bag that seals to become an enclosed silk coffin within the resomator. After the cycle, the soft bone ash can be powdered and put in an urn, as with cremation. From the early 1990s to the mid-2000s, AH was used only as a method for disposing animal remains or human bodies that had been left to medical schools for research. More recently, states have been considering adding AH to the methods consumers might choose for body disposition (Irving, 2016). Supporters of alkaline hydrolysis argue that it is the most environmentally friendly method of body disposition, with the potential to avert the millions of tons of wood, metal, and concrete, as well as hundreds of thousands of gallons of embalming fluid, buried each year in U.S. cemeteries (Irving, 2016). Proponents note that alkaline hydrolysis neutralizes embalming chemicals, toxic drugs such as chemotherapy medicines, and infectious organisms. Those who oppose alkaline hydrolysis believe not enough is known about possible health and safety risks, or feel that AH is not a dignified way to treat human remains. One group, the Catholic Conference of Ohio, was successful in defeating AH legislation. Ohio is reconsidering the issue as a bill proposing the legalization of alkaline hydrolysis is making its way through the state legislature (Irving, 2016). Other Catholic groups have concluded that AH is “morally neutral” and much like cremation. Alkaline hydrolysis set-up may cost a provider between $150,000 and $400,000 depending on the size of the machine as well as the temperature and pressure at which the system can operate. Higher temperature and greater pressure result in faster decomposition, which allows a provider to handle multiple bodies per day. The AH equipment costs more than traditional cremation machinery. In Minnesota, basic AH service costs about $2,400, while the cost of direct cremation without an on-site ceremony ranges from $800 to more than $4,300, depending on the provider. The national average cost for a traditional funeral, including burial and a headstone or monument, is about $10,000 (Irving, 2016). The major barrier to AH is the concern over wastewater discharge. The pH of the resulting solution is modified before disposal, which requires a holding tank. Extensive monitoring in St. Petersburg, Florida, showed no adverse effects on water
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