CREMATORIUM

Park benches across the country will have to be replaced at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds because they are too low. Under new health and safety laws, benches must be more than 17.75in high so the elderly and disabled can get off them easily. The new rules came to light after Bramcote Crematorium in Nottinghamshire was told by officials from the local Broxtowe council to replace 40 memorial benches costing £400 each.

An inspector found that the benches were 14.75in high, 3in lower than the "allowed minimum" height and 5in lower than the "optimum" height. The crematorium has also been ordered to pay a further £200,000 for lighting, because, under the same legislation, the new benches must be lit at night. The order has led to the benches, many of which were paid for by bereaved families in memory of their loved ones, being removed.

Kevin Browne, the crematorium's manager, said, "The inspector went around with a tape measure measuring everything for compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Apparently, it means that the buttocks of infirm people are below the point at which they can easily return to a standing position, and 72% of our visitors are elderly. But we also have to pay to put the new benches on an elevated slab, clear enough space at the side to give wheelchair access and make sure all the benches across our 18-acre site are properly lit."

A spokeswoman for the Disability Rights Commission, which oversees the operation of the law, said that it was down to individual councils to interpret the legislation. She said in the Bramcote case, the precise bench measurements had been drawn up by the borough council and the legislation includes a provision which says that the costs of any changes to conform with the law must be taken into account, and must be reasonable. (Source: Daily Mail, Jun/07)

Bereaved families in Derby will soon be offered the artificial limbs and joints of their loved ones after they have been cremated because of environmental concerns over burying metal. Markeaton Crematorium has confirmed it expects to have a scheme up and running within months, under which metal remnants among the ashes of cremated people would be made available to the next of kin. Those parts which are not wanted would be melted down and recycled. A similar scheme is also set to be launched at Bretby Crematorium in Geary Lane.

The move follows a recommendation by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, which offers guidance to cemeteries and crematoria in Britain. The institute has put forward the recommendation because it is more environmentally-friendly than the current method of disposing of the metals through burial in crematorium grounds. Families will be given the opportunity to take any parts they want prior to being placed into the recycling process. The recycling will be carried out by a Dutch company, Orthometals, in partnership with Leeds-based firm Combustion Solutions.

All the metal will be collected by Orthometals. Any profits that are made from the recycling will be donated to bereavement charities. Derby City Council's head of parks services, Steve Medlock, whose responsibilities include Markeaton Crematorium, said, "We don't have a scheme at the moment, but I would think we'd be up and running within a few months. Families will always have an option of keeping any parts belonging to their family members, otherwise they will be recycled. It's a question of whether people wish to keep particular parts or if they're happy for them to be recycled. The use of metal parts has increased. As medicine has advanced, so has the use of such things."

Bretby Crematorium manager Nick French said that from March 2005 the crematorium would seek consent for the sensitive recycling of metals. As well as replacement joints or metalwork used to support bones following operations, metal parts from coffins would also be recycled. All the waste metals will be melted. Ferrous metals, such as screws and hinges used in the coffin construction, will be fed back into the ferrous metal industry. The melted metal from the orthopedic implants will be sold to medical companies so it can be reused for similar purposes.

Precious metals, such as gold teeth, would not be recycled as they melt at a lower temperature and disperse during the cremation process. So far, 41 of the 250 crematoria nationwide have taken up the scheme. Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management chief executive Tim Morris said, "At the moment, these metals are just buried in the ground, which is not what we want for environmental reasons. There's a finite amount of space where these metals can be buried and it's far better for the environment if we can recycle." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

Cremation fees are set to rise by £25 to pay for a system to tackle toxic emissions created by the burning of tooth fillings. Derby City Council is increasing cremation charges by 2.25% above inflation in order to meet a Government guideline to halve mercury emissions by 2012. The increase will generate an extra £19,000 of annual income. The council wants to install a filtering system at the crematorium to contain the mercury so it can be disposed of safely. The system will cost between £1.3m and £2m and should be working by 2012. The council hopes the Government will pay the shortfall.

City councillor Sara Bolton, cabinet member for environment and direct services, said, "Nobody likes increases of any sort but this is something that needs to be carried out. All local authorities have got to take action to cut mercury emissions and that's what we're doing." A Government spokeswoman said the directive to reduce the amount of mercury released from crematoria had come about because of fears that it would rise over the coming years because of an increase in cremations. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Mar/06)