Cremation and the environment

As more Australians opt for cremation over burial, Australia's cremation industry has been proactive in adopting new, greener technologies to address environmental concerns. The main industry group, the Australasian Cemeteries and Crematoria Association, focused on the environment and sustainability for their 2009 annual conference.

Centennial Park environmental award

South Australia's largest cemetery and crematorium, Centennial Park, recently completed its changeover to sustainable operations. In 2009, Centennial Park won a World Environment Day Award in the Business category for Environmental Best Practice. The award recognises the hard work Centennial Park has put into sustainability:

• all carbon emissions are offset with fully certified carbon credits
• operational waste sent to landfill has been reduced by more than 97%
• energy consumption has been reduced by 9%.

CEO of Centennial Park, Bryan Elliott, says "we are the first cemetery in Australia, and possibly the world, to manage our entire greenhouse gas emissions with a carbon offset scheme." All emissions are covered, including cremations, burials and funeral services as well as emissions from buildings, garden maintenance, vehicles and equipment. Rather than passing the costs onto families, Centennial Park has absorbed the costs into its normal operations.

New technologies - Improving cremation

Because cremation involves burning the body and the coffin, smoke and particle emissions are a concern. On the day of cremation, green house gas emissions are significantly higher than if the deceased were buried. However, once the additional maintenance involved in caring for burial gravesites is taken into account, cremation and burial are much closer in environmental impact. Most crematoria nowadays have invested in emissions abatement technology. Modern cremators electronically monitor emissions.

Metal parts, commonly found in joint replacements, pins, and other implants, are removed from the ashes after cremation. (Pacemakers must be removed before cremation, because they can explode at high temperatures.) Currently the metal is disposed of by the crematoria, although there is potential to recycle the metals for other uses. This is common in Europe and North America. Dutch company OrthoMetals is active in over 15 countries serving over 375 crematoria, collecting and recycling metals from crematoria. After deduction of costs, proceeds are donated to charities. OrthoMetal's recycling program may be coming to Australia soon.

Emissions can also be reduced by choosing greener materials for coffins. Coffin suppliers both large and small have introduced new cardboard coffins. Although this conjures images of being buried in a cardboard box, the coffins can be made with a variety of high-quality finishes including wood effects and one-of-a-kind prints. Coffin choices can be discussed with a funeral director.

New technologies - Alternatives to cremation

Currently in Australia, the body of a deceased person is either buried or cremated. New technologies promise low environmental impact.

Resomation involves submerging the body in a liquid and then heating at high temperature under pressure. It is described as an acceleration of normal decomposition processes. The bones break down into a fine white ash which can be kept in an urn in the same way as cremation ashes. In Australia, Austeng has secured a licence to use the technology in Australia on an investigative and market research basis. However, it will be some time before members of the public can choose resomation as an alternative to cremation or burial.

Promession involves freezing the body in liquid nitrogen, after which it crumbles. After drying, the remains are about 30% of the deceased's original body weight. The technique was developed by Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak and is offered in Sweden by Promessa Organic.