Bodies of the deceased are having their metal components repurposed into items like road signs, car parts, and aircraft engines.
After cremation, steel hips, plates, and screws from legs and skulls are gathered and sold off, with the proceeds directed to charity.
Additionally, metal plates from dentures and old fillings, as well as metal hardware from coffins, are retrieved and repurposed.
Metals of significant value that endure the 1000-degree furnace are made available for the automotive and aeronautics sectors. Examples include titanium and cobalt, found in various implants and dental procedures, with cobalt being utilized specifically in aircraft engines.
Less valuable metals undergo smelting and are sold for broader applications, including road signs, motorway barriers, and lamp posts.
Relatives are given the option to keep the metal parts of their loved ones prior to cremation, with most opting not to retain them and consenting to the recycling process by signing a form.
Once the cremation is completed, the ashes along with other residual items are placed in a compartment within the cremator before transferring to a special cremulator machine that separates any metal from bone fragments. The extracted metal is collected in large bins and removed. In crematoriums not participating in this initiative, metal body parts are typically interred on the premises; however, new legislation will soon render this practice unlawful.
Ruud Verberne, the owner of OrthoMetals—a Dutch company engaged in this recycling endeavor—stated: “The reclamation of metals from cremations is increasingly prevalent. High-value metals such as cobalt are directed towards the aircraft and automotive sectors.”
The recycling of these metals is becoming a thriving business in both the UK and other parts of Europe.
One participating crematorium reports that it produces approximately one large bin of surplus metal body parts each month.
The recycling programs operate under stringent guidelines established by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management.
by John Jackson
