Florida funeral home offers eco-friendly cremations

ST. PETERSBURG, FlA Florida funeral home is offering a new alternative to traditional cremations and burials, selling what it bills as an environmentally friendly chemical process to dispose of dead bodies, machinery

The process involves pressurized water, potassium hydroxide and electric heat to generate an accelerated chemical reaction similar to what occurs to bodies when they are buried in the ground.

Under the new method, bodies are placed in a steel machine resembling an oversized washing machine called the Resomator. The bodies are then immersed in a chemical bath and the remains are broken down by a process known as alkaline hydrolysis using water at high temperatures.

The solution contains alkali, a substance found in cosmetics and liquid soaps. The whole process lasts about three to four hours, slightly longer than heat cremations.

But similar to traditional cremations, what is left are bones and ash, which are placed in an urn and given to family members. The used chemical solution is then poured down a drain.

Steve Schaal, the head of Matthews Cremation, the company distributing the Resomator machines in the United States, said market studies show a growing preference for cremations over burials, and the new process would likely appeal to the environmentally conscious.

Prices for the cremations run around $650 compared to traditional ones that cost some $500. Because the process is new. it is currently being offered at the lower price machine.