‘Water cremations’ to be offered in UK to reduce funeral sector’s environmental impact
Co-op Funeralcare has announced plans to offer a new form of burial as a sustainable alternative to traditional burials or cremation.
The UK’s largest funeral provider has announced that it will introduce the practice, called resomation – also known as water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis – later this year.
The practice consists of the deceased being enclosed in a biodegradable pouch then placed in a container filled with pressurised water and a small amount of potassium hydroxide.
This rapidly converts tissue and cells into a watery solution, with one cycle taking approximately four hours.
Soft bones remain and these are dried then reduced to a white powder, which can be returned to relatives in an urn.
Research suggests that resomation is a more sustainable option as it does not release toxic gases, air pollutants or polluting fluids.
Cremating a body leads to the release of carbon dioxide and potentially toxic gases while burials can lead to the risk of groundwater contamination.
The Co-op, which arranges more than 93,000 funerals a year, said it will be working with sustainability experts and academia to further validate existing research during its initial regional pilot.
It said pilot locations to be announced later this year with the intention to expand the service to all Co-op clients.
It has also updated the government on its plans to make the process available in the UK and said that questions on new burial methods were raised at the Synod of Church of England earlier this year.
The practice is growing in popularity in the US, Canada and South Africa, but burials or gas cremations remain the two options for UK families.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu chose resomation for his own funeral
Anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died in 2021, is the most high-profile figure to choose resomation for his own funeral.
Its introduction in the UK will mark the first time in more than 120 years that a new alternative to burial or cremation will be widely available for funerals since the introduction of the Cremation Act in 1902.
It is understood that resomation is not illegal but will be subject to compliance with relevant health, safety and environment regulations.
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Meanwhile, the Law Commission is currently reviewing existing laws to see how they can accommodate new burial methods.
A YouGov poll commissioned by Co-op Funeralcare found that 89% of UK adults had not heard of resomation but once explained, almost a third said they would choose it for their own funeral if available.
Furthermore, nearly a fifth of adults who have arranged a funeral in the last five years said they would have considered resomation for their loved one’s funeral had it been an option at the time.
Gill Stewart, managing director of Co-op Funeralcare, said introducing “innovative and sustainable options” for clients is “an absolute priority”.
“Up until now choice has been limited to burial or cremation,” she said.
“We’ve seen from the rapid uptake of newer funeral options such as direct cremation, that when choice in the funeral market is broadened, this is only a positive thing both for the bereaved and for those planning ahead for their own farewell.”
BBC chair Samir Shah has said there is “no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this” – after Donald Trump said he would sue the corporation for between $1bn and $5bn.
It comes after the US president confirmed on Saturday he would be taking legal action against the broadcaster over the editing of his speech on Panorama – despite an apology from the BBC.
Samir Shah said the BBC’s position ‘has not changed’. Pic: Reuters
In an email to staff, Mr Shah said: “There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements.
“In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our licence fee payers, the British public.
“I want to be very clear with you – our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this.”
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On Saturday, President Trump told reporters legal action would come in the following days.
“We’ll sue them. We’ll sue them for anywhere between a billion (£792m) and five billion dollars (£3.79bn), probably sometime next week,” he said.
“We have to do it, they’ve even admitted that they cheated. Not that they couldn’t have not done that. They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
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The BBC on Thursday said the edit of Mr Trump’s speech on 6 January 2021 had given the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.
The broadcaster apologised and said the splicing of the speech was an “error of judgment” but refused to pay financial compensation after the US leader’s lawyers threatened to sue for one billion dollars in damages unless a retraction and apology were published.
Deborah Turness. Pic: Reuters
Tim Davie. Pic: PA
The Panorama scandal prompted the resignations of two of the BBC’s most senior executives – director-general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.
The broadcaster has said it will not air the Panorama episode Trump: A Second Chance? again, and published a retraction on the show’s webpage on Thursday.
A British man who hacked the X accounts of celebrities in a bid to con people out of Bitcoin, has been ordered to repay £4.1m-worth of the cryptocurrency, prosecutors say.
Joseph James O’Connor, 26, was jailed in the United States for five years in 2023 after he pleaded guilty to charges including computer intrusion, wire fraud and extortion.
He was arrested in Spain in 2021 and extradited after the country’s high court ruled the US was best placed to prosecute because the evidence and victims were there.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Monday it had obtained a civil recovery order to seize 42 Bitcoin and other crypto assets linked to the scam, in which O’Connor used hijacked accounts to solicit digital currency and threaten celebrities.
The July 2020 hack compromised accounts of high-profile figures including former US presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
O’Connor and his co-conspirators stole more than $794,000 (£629,000) of cryptocurrency after using the hacked accounts to ask people to send $1,000 in Bitcoin to receive double back.
Prosecutor Adrian Foster said the civil recovery order showed that “even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we are still able to ensure they do not benefit from their criminality”.
The order, which valued O’Connor’s assets at around £4.1m, was made last week, following a freeze placed on the hacker’s property, which prosecutors secured during extradition proceedings.
Barack Obama was one of the famous people to have their Twitter account hacked
Elon Musk was among those targeted by scammers in a Twitter hack
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A court-appointed trustee will liquidate his assets, the CPS said.
The attack also compromised the X (then Twitter) accounts of other high-profile figures including Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, investor Warren Buffett, and media personality and businesswoman Kim Kardashian.
The hack prompted the social media platform to temporarily freeze some accounts.
X said 130 accounts were targeted, with 45 used to send tweets.
The cobbled streets of Newport in Middlesbrough survive from the Victorian era.
The staggering levels of child poverty here also feel like they belong in a different time.
Six out of every seven children in Newport are classified as living in poverty.
Six out of every seven children in Newport are classified as living in poverty
The measure is defined by the Child Poverty Action Group as a household with an income less than 60% of the national average.
More than half of children across the whole of the constituency of Middlesbrough and Thornaby East are growing up in poverty.
As a long-awaited new strategy on child poverty is expected from the government, much of the focus on tackling the problem has been placed on lifting the two-child cap on benefits for families.
Researchers say there is direct link between areas with the highest rates of child poverty and those with the highest proportion of children affected by that two-child cap.
The two-child benefit cap means Gemma Grafton and Lee Stevenson receive no additional universal credit for three-month-old Ivie
Mother-of-three Gemma Grafton said: “Maybe if families do have more than two children, give them that little bit of extra help because it would make a difference.”
Three months ago, she and partner Lee welcomed baby Ivie into the world. With two daughters already, the cap means they receive no additional universal credit.
“You don’t seem to have enough money some months to cover the basics,” said Lee.
“Having to tell the kids to take it easy, that’s not nice, when they’re just wanting to help themselves to get what they want and we’ve got to say ‘Try and calm down on what you’re eating’ because we haven’t got the money to go and get shopping in,” added Gemma.
Katrina Morley, of Dormanstown Primary Academy, says lack of sleep affects concentration
Tracey Godfrey-Harrison says parents ‘are crying that they’re failing’
The couple had to resort to paying half of the rent one month, something they say is stressful and puts their home at risk.
Those who work in the area of child poverty say they are engaged in a battle with child exploitation gangs who will happily step in and offer children a lucrative life of crime.
“Parents are crying that they’re failing because they can’t provide for their children,” said Tracey Godfrey-Harrison, project manager at the Middlesbrough Food Bank.
“In today’s society, it’s disgraceful that anyone should have to cry because they don’t have enough.”
In the shadow of a former steelworks, Dormanstown Primary Academy serves pupils in a community hit hard by the economic collapse that followed.
The school works with charities and businesses to increase opportunities for pupils now and in the future.
Katrina Morley, the academy’s chief executive, said: “A child who hasn’t been able to sleep properly can’t concentrate. They’re tired. We know that the brain doesn’t work in the same way. A child who is hungry can’t access the whole of life.
“When you face hardship, it affects not just your physiology but your emotional sense, your brain development, your sense of worth. They don’t get today back and their tomorrow is our tomorrow.”
Dormanstown Primary Academy serves pupils in a community hit hard by the closure of a steel plant
Barney’s Baby Bank founder Debbie Smith says local people ‘are struggling with food’
The school’s year six pupils see the value of things like the on-site farm shop for families in need.
They are open about their own worries, too.
Bonnie, 10, said: “I think that’s very important because it ensures all the people in our community have options if they’re struggling.
“It can be life-changing for families in poverty or who have a disadvantage in life because they don’t have enough money and they’re really struggling to get their necessities.”
Mark, also 10, said: “I worry about if we have nowhere to live and if we haven’t got enough money to pay for our home. But at least we have our family.”
They also see the homelessness in the area as the impact of poverty. “I think it actually happens more often than most people think,” said Leo, “because near the town, there’s people on the streets and they have nowhere to go.”
The school is one of many calling for the lifting of the two-child cap.
The need for life’s essentials has prompted more than 50 families to register for help at Barney’s Baby Bank in the last 11 months. Nappies, wipes, clothing, shoes, toys, are a lifeline for those who call in.
Founder Debbie Smith said local people “are struggling with food. They’re obviously struggling to clothe their babies as well. It’s low wages, high unemployment, job insecurity and that two-child benefit cap”.
“Middlesbrough does feel ignored,” she added.
A government spokesperson said: “Every child, no matter their background, deserves the best start in life. That’s why our Child Poverty Taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.
“We are investing £500m in children’s development through the rollout of Best Start Family Hubs, extending free school meals and ensuring the poorest don’t go hungry in the holidays through a new £1bn crisis support package.”
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But what is the message to those making the decisions from the North East?
“Come and do my job for a week and see the need and the desperation the people are in,” said Ms Godfrey-Harrison. “There needs to be more done for people in Middlesbrough.”
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