For environmentally conscious families and those who desire a process less destructive than the practice of fire cremation, aquamation is an excellent choice. Aquamation is actually an accelerated version of natural decomposition. At the end of the process, the body has been dissolved in water and the remaining dust/ash can be returned to the earth.
Aquamation is an environmentally sustainable choice—more so than fire cremation—because the process emits nothing into the atmosphere. Aquamation offers these sustainable advantages over standard cremation:
- No emissions: no vaporized mercury is emitted and no filtration or abatement systems are required. Mercury from dental amalgams is retained and recycled.
- Low carbon footprint: Aquamation uses less fossil fuel and produces fewer greenhouse gases. Its carbon impact is one quarter of the impact of fire cremation. Caskets are not burned, which limits the production of CO2 and the destruction of natural resources.
- Energy efficient: uses one-tenth of the energy of fire cremation
- Safe effluent (the by-product), uncontaminated by harmful chemicals or bacteria
- No surgical removal of pacemakers is required.
- Medical implants are unaffected and their materials recycled, where possible.
The sterile by-product (effluent) from aquamation is made up of small peptides, sugars, amino acids and soaps.
An important thought to remember….. We are born out of water, many times baptized in water, and our bodies are on average 65% water. With aquamation, we return to the earth as part of the cycle of life, our elements reabsorbed as nature intended.
With alkaline hydrolysis, an individual pet is gently placed in a container that is then placed in a clean, stainless steel vessel. A combination of water flow, temperature and alkalinity are used to accelerate the natural process of tissue hydrolysis. At the end of the process, the pets body has been returned to its natural form, dissolved in the water .The only solid remains are the mineral bone remains.
No, alkaline hydrolysis uses a catalyst called alkali, which is the chemical opposite of an acid.
Yes. The water-based process is 95% water and 5% alkali. A combination of alkalis (sodium and potassium hydroxide) are used in the process to dissolve the pets body. At the end of the process, the chemical has been completely used and no longer remains in the water solution.
The water is returned to the ecosystem via the normal wastewater treatment facility, just as all funeral homes in the United States do during the embalming process. The alkaline hydrolysis process produces a completely sterile solution of amino acids, sugars, nutrients, salts, and soap in a water solution. These are the byproducts of natural decomposition.
Yes, the remains are 100% safe, pathogen and disease free. The ash that is returned to the family is simply bone mineral, or calcium phosphate. The ashes will keep in an um, or may be buried or scattered in a special place as some families choose to do.
We offer private or communal options along with a full line of pet urns, markers, jewelry and other pet memorial products. Visit our website for a full list of products and pricing.
