Australia’s first water cremation facility begins operating in Tasmania

ABC NEWS (Australia)

It's a question most of us ponder at some point, will we one day be buried or cremated? If we choose the latter, we could consider a second question - cremation by fire, or water? A new water cremation facility has begun operating in Tasmania.

Transcript

00:00It looks like some sort of factory, but it's not making anything new.

00:07Instead, it's facilitating a new approach to cremation.

00:11The first regulator-approved water cremation facility in Australia has opened in Hobart.

00:18Something that reflects what actually happens naturally in nature when someone's buried.

00:23Also known as alkaline hydrolysis,

00:26the process involves putting the body inside a stainless steel drum,

00:31filling it with a solution of water and alkali,

00:34and heating the body to approximately 90 degrees for around 10 hours.

00:39At the end of the process, only the bones are left, which can be turned into ashes.

00:44About 70% of Australians who died last year chose a fire cremation.

00:50Water cremation is about 90% less direct emissions compared to a flame cremation.

00:56To be able to come in with essentially a new technology in the space

00:59and be able to offer that at a price point that is comparable with the cheapest options

01:04that are already available I think is a really impressive thing.

01:07The costs associated with dying have increased by more than 20% in Australia since 2019,

01:14and environmental concerns are increasingly influencing people's choices around end-of-life practices.

01:20You can make a funeral whatever it's going to be and it doesn't always have to fit the mould.

01:27Making a funeral plan is something Bec Lyons wants more people to do,

01:32especially as the baby boomer generation ages and the rate of deaths increases.

01:37We need a reminder that one, talking about death won't kill you

01:42and none of us are getting out of here alive.

01:44Taking a new look at an old tradition.

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