Twenty-First Century Funerals !

Both custom and religion ruled the way we dealt with our dead since the dawn of time.   Burial in the ground was the most common practice, but some eastern countries were the first to embrace cremation - and now this method is rapidly expanding because of the lack of suitable land in big cities to be set aside for cemeteries.

Funerals are also receiving attention because of the need to reduce carbon emissions and preserve rain forests.   Cutting trees to create coffins is giving way to the use of " cardboard " coffins  - and the energy used in each cremation is considered wasteful.

Now - a new way of dealing with the dead has arrived.

We are about to see the rapid expansion of " Aquamation " facilities across this country.  The first are already operating in Queensland and there are predictions that they will soon appear in every city and country town in Australia.

This modern method does not require a coffin and the deceased is reduced to a liquid - which is rich in nutrients and would be suitable for fertilizing gardens - just as the ashes from a cremation are often scattered in a rose garden, so this method would be both practical and useful for the ecology.

The method  sounds simple.  The body is place in a stainless steel container and submerged in a solution of water and Potassium Hydroxide, which is then pressurised and heated to 93 degrees for four hours.  The end result is " Alkaline Hydrolysis " - with only the bones remaining, and these can be reduced to powder in similar manner to the ashes from a cremation,

It would certainly take a little getting used to - but then so did cremation when it first arrived in this country.   Some religions rejected cremation and insisted that burial was the only method that met their dogma in the early days, but obviously both economics and personal beliefs have brought about a change of attitude.

As the cost of funerals continues to rise and the insurance companies embark on intensive campaigns to sell funeral cost insurance, price will become a decisive factor.    Cremation is a lower cost option to burial and if Aquamation delivers an even lower cost it will be embraced by many.

It seems that nothing remains the same in this ever changing world !