Now she is creating glass jewellery from her mother's ashes. Read more

The approach, called recomposition, is currently being discussed by lawmakers and, if approved, could become a legal third option for after-death care by 2020.

"A lot of people might be reluctant to think or talk about death and might find the whole thing icky, but for the most part people are quite intrigued," said Sen. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat who is sponsoring the legislative bill.

He said the world has been re-shaped by innovation, and funerals should be no different.

In Washington state, dead bodies can either be cremated or buried, but Pedersen said both are damaging to the environment and expensive.

"Cremation takes a gigantic amount of energy … and with traditional burial they typically embalm the bodies by draining blood and adding chemicals," he said. "There are environmental issues with both methods."

Recomposition is a natural process that breaks down the body by placing it in a reusable vessel, covering it with wood chips and aerating it, which creates an environment for microbes and necessary bacteria.

The process takes about 30 days, according to Recompose, the Seattle-based company behind the idea.

The soil that is created from the body can either be given to the families or they can donate it to conservation land.

"Recomposition allows us to give back to the earth that supports us all our lives," the company claims on its website.

Recompose plans to charge around $5,000 for its services.

The company recently co-sponsored a study, the Recomposition Science Project, at Washington State University and found that composting human bodies is environmentally sound. The study included examining and adapting techniques that have been developed for composting livestock.

"It is an understandable tendency to limit the amount of time we spend contemplating our after-death choices, but environmental realities are pressing us to develop alternatives to chemical embalming, carbon-generating cremation and the massive land use requirements of traditional cemeteries," Recompose founder and CEO Katrina Spade said in a news release.

She added that, if every Washington state resident chose recomposition, it would save more than .5 million metric tons of CO2 within 10 years — enough to let 13 million seedlings grow into trees for 10 years.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2.7 million people die annually in the U.S. More than half (53.5 percent) are cremated.

The National Funeral Directors Association, though, reports that more people are showing an interest in green burials.

Green burials, also called natural burials, minimize environmental impacts by not embalming, re-thinking burial containers and protecting the natural habitat with the goal of limiting waste and reducing the carbon footprint. Continue reading

In a paper going before Hastings District Council this week, manager Isak Bester brings several matters to the councillors' attention, including the extra time involved in cremating "oversize caskets".

Oversize caskets are used for anyone weighing more than 150kg.

While an average-sized person's casket takes about 2½ hours to cremate, an oversize one takes between 4½ hours and 5½ hours.

On average, the cost of a funeral is about $10,000.

Whether you opt for burial or cremation, it will have a significant impact on price.

Depending on the area, the price of a burial plot can range from $657 (central Hawke's Bay) to $6613 (North Shore Memorial Park, Auckland).

In addition, interment fees range from $319 (Taupo) to $1860 (Auckland).

Cremation is usually cheaper than burial. If you're using a council-owned crematorium, you'll pay between $525 and $900.

Privately owned crematoria can be more expensive, with services costing between $700 and $1100.

The Hastings District Council is proposing to charge an additional $200.00 for the cremation of a large person.

A council spokeswoman said between six and eight "oversize caskets" had been cremated at the crematorium in the past year.

That was out of about 700 a year.

Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand president Gary Taylor said he had not come across such a scheme before, and it was not something he supported.

"Anything that limits a family's ability to make a choice, we as an association would question.

"Funerals are all about choice. They're about families being able to make choices based on good information given to them by funeral directors and, if those decisions are going to be clouded, then I don't think that's a progressive step forward."

While the Catholic Church continues to prefer burial in the ground, it accepts cremation as an option.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• nzcatholic.org
• stuff.co.nz
• consumer.org.nz
• Image: cbc.ca

Father Victor Roche from the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG and the Solomon Islands said although they prefer burial, the church also accepts cremation.

But pastor Peter Dege from the True Church of Jesus Christ disagreed outright, saying there are about 35 Bible scriptures that highlighted burial as a Christian practice.

He said PNG as a Christian nation should not deviate from this tradition.

He also said that Port Moresby, let alone PNG as a whole, has a lot land that can be used as a burial ground.

However, the city authorities disagree. They say Port Moresby is running out of land for burials. There is only one public cemetery in the city and it is fast running out of space.

Nation Capital District Commission (NCDC) chief health surveyor Isoa More, who is in charge of the cemetery, said it was built in the 1960s and is halfway there right now, but sooner or later the 779-hectare land mass will no longer accommodate the dead.

The last patches of available land at the cemetery may be used up within several years.

Already burials are taking up the nearby hills that once were the natural boundaries of the flat area purposely designated for the public cemetery along the Sogeri Road.

In acknowledging the seriousness of the issue, city manager Leslie Alu said in the worse case scenario, the commission would, based on costs, pursue either cremation or keeping bodies in a locker system in a storage facility.

Health Minister, Sir Puka Temu, says cremation must be considered.

He said it was time to discuss whether to provide land or to go against tradition and consider the option of cremation.

"I think those are the issues that we really need to discuss."

Source

• Post Courier
• Post Courier
• Image: Eureka Street

This follows on the recent statement the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about cremation and the scattering of ashes.

"The loss of a loved one is a significant time for every family. It is a time when we rightly give thanks for the life of our loved ones but it is also the time for us to look forward," say the Bishops in their statement.

"This is why our Catholic celebration of the funeral liturgies leads people into the death and resurrection of the Lord, the mystery that most illuminates the Christian meaning of death."

The Bishops ask that, when cremation is chosen, the ashes of the loved one be laid to rest in a wahi tapu, a sacred place, such as at a cemetery, or a columbarium, church or surrounding area that has been blessed and set aside for this purpose.

"The place of rest then becomes a wonderful sign of the promise the risen Lord makes to us of being reunited with our loved one and with Jesus in glory," they say.

"The place of rest also ensures an appropriate and sacred place for pilgrimage for loved ones and future generations to visit and pay respect to their forebears and tipuna, knowing with certainty that this is the place of rest for their earthly remains as they await the great day of resurrection."

The Bishops have included in their statement the prayer recited for blessing a grave or place for internment of ashes.

Read the Bishops' Statement

Source

• Supplied
• Image: skylawnmemorialparksanmateo.com

Spokeswoman Simone Olsen says the Catholic Church in New Zealand will follow guidelines from the Vatican.

The practice of ash spreading is particularly pertinent in the New Zealand at this time because a number of iwi have been expressing their concern about the practice.

The Catholic Church's attitude towards human remains appear to have some things in common with Maori attitudes and values and practices.

For both groups human remains, whether cremated or not, are sacred. So both consider the places the remains are left in to be sacred.

For Catholics, this means scattering ashes, dividing them between the bereaved or keeping them in places that aren't sacred - like at home - is not permitted.

Recently a number of iwi have spoken out saying people should consult them about where they scatter ashes.

From Maori perspective human remains (including ashes) must not come into contact with food.

This includes potential food sources - like lakes and coastlines - and places where food may be consumed.

To put this into context, if human ashes were scattered along a coastline, a rahui restricting access to or using the area or resource for a given period would need to be put in place.

Maori also like to know where human remains are placed.

Some places could be sacred for iwi. They like to care for and protect these sacred places, known as waahi tapu. Some want such place placed off limits for ashes.

It has been suggested that the church may deny someone a christian funeral if they request to have their ashes scattered.

However, Olsen says people still had free will to decide what they wanted to do.

To her understanding, priests would be able to decide for themselves what they wanted to do for "each unique situation".

Source

• The Guardian
• nzherald.co.nz
• RNZ
• press.vatican
• Image: funeral services San Mateo

It released a 252-page report Death, Burial and Cremation - a new law for contemporary New Zealand, last week.

The report is a response to a request to undertake a first principles review of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964.

While the report is directed at laws governing burial and cremation, Chapter 7, Certainty about when death occurs, does examine whether there is a need to clarify the legal definition of death.

The commissioners concluded that common law does not provide certainty as to whether a person who is brain dead is dead for the purposes of the law.

However they did not recommend any change in the law regarding a legal definition of death "because the status quo does not present a significant practical problem for the statutory duties proposed in this Report."

They say however that the lack of a statutory definition of death may present a greater problem in other areas of the law.

The commissioners conclude that "While it is outside the scope of this project, we suspect that greater difficulty arises in respect of organ transplantation due to the potential for doctors to carry liability for removing organs."

They note however that few cases have reached the courts in New Zealand in the four and a half decades since the advent of artificial respiration.

"This may indicate that brain death is not particularly common and practical legal issues are usually resolved or avoided by good communication by health practitioners, by consensus or by alternative dispute resolution processes outside court."

The report made 127 recommendations for change burial and cremation laws.

It has been tabled in Parliament for ministers to consider developing new legislation.

Source

• lawcom.govt.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: upload.wikimedia.org

The West Midlands European Parliament MP Philip Bradbourn, 63, had died of bowel cancer in December at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield.

But another man's body was cremated at the Conservative politician's funeral on January 16 at Bushbury Crematorium in Wolverhampton.

The "wrong" body cremated was that of Philip Bradburn, a man without close family or relatives, who died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham before Christmas.

Mr Bradburn's funeral had been arranged by social services.

After the two men's deaths, their bodies had been taken to the Central England Co-operative Funeralcare mortuary.

Mr Bradbourn's family slammed the mix-up after having to hold a second funeral for him the following month.

Last week, politicians gathered to pay their respects to Mr Bradbourn at St Peter's Collegiate Church in Wolverhampton at a separate memorial service.

An investigation has been launched into how the mix-up happened.

Dr Andrew Catto, executive medical director at the trust which runs Good Hope Hospital, said: "This is an incredibly distressing situation and we are very sorry that this has happened.

"This is a rare incident and we are offering support to those close to the deceased."

But Dr Catto added: "This occurred in spite of the fact that mortuary procedures conform to nationally defined standards and are subject to periodic audit."

A spokesperson for Central England Co-operative Funeralcare said: "The society is supporting one of our partners in a full and open investigation, but is not able to comment further while the investigation is ongoing."

European MP Anthea McIntyre, who went to Mr Bradbourn's first funeral, said serious questions have been sent "right to the top of government" on this issue.

At the time of Mr Bradbourn's death, UK Prime Minister David Cameron led tributes to the "dedicated" and "well-respected" politician who served in the European Parliament since 1999.

Sources

• The Guardian
• The Daily Mail
• Image: Independent

Under the original proposal for the Cemeteries and Crematoria Bylaw, city residents would have had to get written permission to scatter their loved ones' ashes. Continue reading

But now they can really go out with a bang.

Craig Hull runs Ashes to Ashes in Sydney Australia and, for a fee he will for a fee, will send your loved one's or pet's ashes up in an impressive fireworks display.

He will fire your loved ones remains remains off the Sydney Harbour Bridge on New Year's Eve. Read more and watch video clips

Ten NHS trusts have admitted burning foetal remains alongside other rubbish while two others used the bodies in "waste-to-energy" plants which generate power for heat.

The UK Department of Health issued an instant ban on the practice, which health minister Dr Dan Poulter branded "totally unacceptable".

At least 15,500 foetal remains were incinerated by 27 NHS trusts over the last two years alone, Channel 4's Dispatches discovered.

The programme, which aired on March 24, found that parents who lose children in early pregnancy were often treated without compassion and were not consulted about what they wanted to happen to the remains.

One of the country's leading hospitals, Addenbrooke's in Cambridge, incinerated 797 babies below 13 weeks gestation at their own "waste to energy" plant, the programme alleged.

The mothers were told the remains had been "cremated".

Another "waste to energy" facility at Ipswich Hospital, operated by a private contractor, incinerated 1101 foetal remains between 2011 and 2013.

They were brought in from another hospital before being burned, generating energy for the hospital site.

Ipswich Hospital denied knowing that foetuses had been burned on its site.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke's stated that its disposal of foetal tissue complied with the recommendations from relevant medical authorities.

The trust said foetal remains had never been incinerated with waste.

Labour MP Jim Dobbin expressed his disgust at the revelations.

He said this "callous disregard for young humans is the fruit of 50 years of legal abortion in the UK".

"And it is no use pro-choice people wringing their hands about treating unborn babies as clinical waste when it is their relentless dehumanisation of unborn life that has led us to this point."

He called for a re-examination of how remains of aborted and miscarried babies are treated in medical facilities.

Sources:

• Daily Telegraph
• Catholic News Service
• Catholic Herald
• Image: New York Daily News

The bag said ‘remains of Helen K. Dapron' and gave her apparent dates of birth and death as October 1930 and June 2010.

Charlie told local television station KSN: ‘Just like that, people leave phone, keys, stuff like that all the time, but I've never seen anything like this.'

Mr Nguyen reviewed security tapes but couldn't identify the customer so posted a note in his shop.

‘I tried to post it on the door, tried to return it to someone, but nobody came forward to claim this bag,' he said. Continue reading

A Maori funeral director in west Auckland, Francis Tipene, says he is seeing more and more bereaved whanau choosing cremation over burial because it is a less expensive option.

Continue reading

The recipients of the pricey goods Mike Nicodemus sells will not be around to enjoy them.

For the baseball fan, he offers a cremation urn with the favourite team's logo. Military veterans can spend eternity encased in a bronze container inscribed with the emblem of their service, or in a case displaying an American flag.

The brightly lit cremation showroom at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home and Crematory in Virginia Beach is the culmination of Nicodemus's effort to turn cremation into a touch-and-feel consumer activity akin to shoe shopping and wedding planning.

"Let them look around, let them shop, let them browse to see what's out there," he says. "If you don't take the initiative during the arrangement conference to let that family know what's available, they don't know." Continue reading

'Cremation is considered as concluded when the urn is deposited in the cemetery,' says the appendix to the new edition of Funeral Rites issued by Italian Episcopal Conference.

'The practice of spreading ashes in the wild or keeping them in places other than the cemetery,' it adds, 'raises many concerns about its full consistency with the Christian faith, especially when they imply pantheistic or naturalist conceptions.' The new book of Funeral Rites was published earlier this month and will come into force in parishes across Italy on Nov. 2, All Souls Day.

Official statistics suggest that around 10 percent of Italians who die are cremated. Since 2001 the Italian government has permitted ashes to be kept at homes in urns or to be scattered on land or sea. Continue reading