As Scotland prepares to be the first of the UK nations to approve water cremation, Chairman Tim Purves, shares his thoughts in a series of articles in this week’s I-Paper, The Times and The Daily Mail.

Water cremation is known as resomation or aquamation and is a cleaner more environmentally friendly alternative to standard cremation.  Water based, it uses five times less energy than fire-driven crematoria. Overall, it is believed to reduce greenhouse gases by roughly 35% leaving a significantly lower impact on the environment.

The process involves heating water and an alkaline solution of potassium hydroxide and applying it for around 90 minutes before drying and creating ashes.  Waste water is disposed through the normal sewer system or used to fertilize plants.  The Scottish Government is reviewing regulations allowing the process to be introduced following successful trials with water companies in England.

Already commonly used in the US, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, it is an increasingly important alternative to gas driven crematoria and was chosen by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu last year.

These are just some of the ways our funeral teams in Scotland and NE England are working to give families the widest choice possible to arrange a funeral that’s “just right” for them and the environment.