The funeral industry has been anticipating the arrival of Alkaline Hydrolysis for 2-3 years. It has arrived in a manner very few anticipated. Forget the PR you have been reading, forget the predictable states you thought it would occur in. Edwards Funeral Services of Columbus, OH has begun running a low temperature, long cycle time (8-12 hours per case) machine variation that essentially began the age of water and alkalinity as a disposition method beyond burial and cremation.

Lou Schaefer of Medina, OH has joined Water Resolution as a Sales Manager responsible for the Midwest US. He brings with him a background of crematory equipment sales. If you are in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, or Western PA and interested in Water Resolution, please contact at 330-441-2710.

Brownsburg, IN – June 2010 – Russell Cooper has been named Director of Business Development for Water Resolution, the environmentally responsible alternative to fire cremation and burial.

With a background in early-phase business organization and development, Cooper comes to the position with goals in place and a vision in mind.  “I want to increase our interaction with death-care leaders throughout communities,” comments Cooper.  “By listening closely and interacting more often, we will be better positioned to align our equipment with their needs.”

Also of primary focus will be working on the regulatory component to ensure that funeral professionals in every state have access to this alternative process in order to better serve families.  “We want to make certain that there is an open playing field – that all states allow this innovative process to be among the options available in the death-care profession,” notes Cooper.

Designs of the Water Resolution® vessel are now completed and efforts are in place to re-engage with the parties that have expressed interest.  According to Cooper, a September production schedule is planned.

Water Resolution accelerates the natural decomposition process through alkaline hydrolysis, sympathetically returning the body to ash.  Unlike cremation, it produces a natural, contaminant-free byproduct.  Water Resolution is an environmentally sustainable process and the bio-responsible option.  The Water Resolution® process is patented in the USA, Canada, Australia and 27 countries of the European Communities for use with cadavers.

A bill headed for an Assembly vote would broaden the definition of cremation to include the use of either fire or water, thus legalizing the alkaline hydrolysis method, which speeds up decomposition.

May 04, 2010|By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Sacramento — — California funeral directors are eager to start offering clients a new natural and greener way to dispose of their loved ones’ remains, but they need a change in state law first.

Funeral homes and crematoria want to use a liquid chemical process to dissolve bodies instead of cremating them with fire.

“It’s green. It’s clean. It’s environmentally friendly and it reduces the carbon footprint,” said California state Assemblyman Jeff Miller (R-Corona), who wrote legislation to make the so-called bio-cremation method legal.

Miller said his bill was prompted by a funeral home director in his district who might buy a bio-cremation machine. The measure would broaden the definition of cremation to include the use of either both fire or and water. Two committees already have approved the measure unanimously, and the full Assembly must pass it before it goes to the Senate.

“I think this would be a great alternative for families,” said Chris Miller, owner of Thomas Miller Mortuary in Corona, who first approached the assemblyman. The two men are not related.

Should the law pass, California would be only the second state to allow bio-cremation, technically known as alkaline hydrolysis. Florida has approved the process, and its first commercial bio-cremation facility is expected to become operational in St. Petersburg in the next few months.

Though no one has started using bio-cremation commercially, the technology already has grabbed the funeral industry’s attention, said Bob Achermann, executive director of the California Funeral Directors Assn.

“There will be consumer demand,” he said, especially among people who have personal or environmental qualms about combustion cremation.

One advantage of bio-cremation to the state’s 1,000 funeral homes and crematoria is that it doesn’t require them to go through the difficult and expensive procedure for obtaining air emission permits from local air pollution agencies.

Prices for bio-cremation machines range from $200,000 to $400,000 each, and only a few companies make them. Sales to just a one-tenth of the nation’s 20,000 funeral homes and crematoria would generate $400 million in revenue for a manufacturer, according to bio-cremation machine maker Water Resolution in Brownsburg, Ind.

The campaign for environmental responsibility is changing the choices Americans make. They recycle in ever-growing numbers.  More choose organic foods and demand products with all-natural ingredients in simplified packaging.  “Green” is clearly the color of choice among the largest group of environmentally conscientious citizens – college-educated, affluent, empty-nesters.

Now they have an environmentally responsible alternative to cremation and burial:  Water Resolution.

Water Resolution accelerates the natural decomposition process through alkaline hydrolysis, sympathetically returning the body to ash.  Unlike cremation it produces a natural, contaminant-free byproduct.  Water Resolution is an environmentally sustainable process – and the bio-responsible option.

Unlike cremation, with Water Resolution an individual body is gently placed in a standard, sanitary, nonporous vessel, preventing any co-mingling of residual remains.  The completely automated process, operated by a single button, then utilizes a combination of water pressure, high temperature and alkalinity to accelerate the natural course of tissue hydrolysis.  The bone shadows left after the Water Resolution process are completely sterile white bones, brittle enough to be easily powdered to ash.

The entire process is complete in about the same time as fire-based cremation, regardless of the size of the body. Pacemakers can be left in place and titanium implants can be recovered – intact and sterile. The Water Resolution vessel requires limited space and can be easily installed in a funeral home or an existing crematorium.

The technology of Water Resolution’s alkaline hydrolysis process, which is patented in the USA, Canada, Australia and 27 countries of the European Communities for use with cadavers, has been used worldwide in laboratory and research applications.  U.S.-based research facilities and medical schools, including the prestigious Mayo Clinic, successfully utilize this innovative technology.  Adapting that technology for use in the death-care industry is a logical, breakthrough step.

There are significant advantages to choosing Water Resolution as an alternative to cremation and burial, because of its environmental component as well as its measurable cost savings.

As the eco-responsible choice, Water Resolution:

• Creates no air pollution and emits no greenhouse gases;
• Emits twenty times less CO2 than with a typical cremation;
• Uses only 10 percent as much energy per body as cremation, making it the energy-efficient option;
• Neutralizes embalming fluid and cytotoxins, protecting soil and water from pollution;
• Results in organic elements safely released to the ecosystem.

While Water Resolution provides responsible stewardship of the environment, its economics are an important factor, too.

• Operation and maintenance costs of Water Resolution are markedly less expensive than fire-based cremation.
• By using only 10 percent of the energy needed for cremation, it both conserves energy and protects against spiraling energy costs.
• The Water Resolution machine requires minimal maintenance and has a lifespan of 20-30 years.
• No air permits are required to operate the Water Resolution process.

Information about Water Resolution is available by calling 440-292-6192 or visiting www.WaterResolution.com.

Compare the options: