National Retail Consumer Conference
24 February 2013
Resomation® - A viable and proven alternative to
cremation with clear environmental benefits
Sandy Sullivan-Managing Director
Resomation Ltd
Resomation® ... an environmentally
beneficial alternative to burial and
cremation developed in response to
increasing environmental awareness and
to provide greater choice.
Resomation Wins Observer Ethical Award 2010
Change....
“There is nothing more difficult to plan, more
doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to
manage than the creation of a new system. For
the initiator has the hostility of all who would
profit by the preservation of the old institutions,
and merely lukewarm defenders in those who
should gain by the new ones”
…Machiavelli
Why change and why do we need an
alternative to Cremation ?
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Mercury and other emissions (legislation)
High volumes of ever more expensive and
unsustainable gas is used
Carbon Footprint
More Choice for Public
World Population Effect and CO2
World Population
~1.7 Billion
source: www.globaltrees.co.uk
~ 7.0 Billion
1900
source: www.globaltrees.co.uk
What are the key Environmental Benefits
of Resomation over Cremation ?
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No Mercury or other harmful airborne emissions
Uses less than one-seventh the energy of cremation
Reduces cremation funeral carbon footprint by 35%
... and like cremation does not use up valuable land for
burial
1874 UK Cremation Society Declaration
“….we desire to substitute some mode which
shall rapidly resolve the body into its
component elements, by a process which
cannot offend the living, and shall render the
remains perfectly innocuous. Until some better
method is devised we desire to adopt that
usually known as cremation”
 In June 2008 they changed their 134 year
old constitution to allow them to adopt
Resomation.
Roger Arber -UK Cremation Society
“There is no doubt that
Resomation is likely to have a
great attraction
to the ever-increasing
environmentally aware public.
The Cremation Society has
acknowledged this fact and a
result altered its Memorandum
of Articles
of Association to accommodate
the process”
...2009
No “visually pretty“ way to exit
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Burial (earth)
Cremation (fire)
And now ......Resomation (water +alkali)
How does Resomation work?
A special biodegradable coffin is placed into the
Resomation capsule and instead of fire, uses a
water and alkali based method –also known as
alkaline hydrolysis to rapidly break the body
down in a similar time to cremation.
Alkalinity versus acidity
Strong
Neutral
Strong
Acidity
Alkalinity
1 ......2………………… 7 ..………………10..14
vinegar
pure water
bicarbonate
What is alkaline hydrolysis ?
A water/chemical process that is found in nature.

A body buried in shallow soil is decomposed to bones
mostly….. by the biochemical process of alkaline
hydrolysis, expedited by the soil bacteria – a slow
process at low temperature and alaklinity
The Resomation® Process
…rapid alkaline hydrolysis
 Uses around 95% water and 5% alkali to hydrolyze the
body , expedited by heat in a specially designed
horizontal capsule.
 Generates:

(a ) an innocuous sterile, DNA free, water-like Bioliquid suitable for release to drain and ultimately
purified and the water returned to the river /sea
(b) Pure white ash
What do we get back at the end?
Just as with cremation the bone ash remains are
placed in an urn and returned to the loved ones.
... compared to cremation you get more ash and
it is pure white.
Does choosing Resomation instead of
cremation alter the funeral arrangements?
No.....a funeral involving Resomation is exactly the
same as one involving cremation, up to the end of the
service
....and the cost will be comparable.
The Resomation Capsule
Is Resomation® a proven technology?
USA Resomation Legislative Map
WA
AK
ME
ND
MN
OR
ID
WI
SD
WY
HI
NV
CA
MI
IW
NE
UT
CO
KS
AZ
OK
NM
TX
NY
PA
IL IA OH
WV
MO
VA
KY
NC
TN
AK
SC
AL GA
MS
MD
VT
CT
NH
MA
DE
NJ
RI
LA
FL
Population wise:Currently 54M = 17%
legal
With CA 90M = 29%
legal
8 – States legal
17 – Targeted States (CA PENDING)
25 – Low Priority States
Three Working USA Installations
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Anderson McQueen Funeral Home- Florida
Bradshaw Funeral Home- Minnesota
UCLA- Los Angeles CA
Anderson McQueen, Florida
Sandy Sullivan & John McQueen
Viewing Room
Bradshaw Celebration of Life Center - Minnesota
Bradshaw Celebration of Life Center
From the
Viewing room
Los Angeles
What do the public think?
Overall UK market research commissioned by
Cooperative Funeralcare shows that the public ...
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Are generally supportive and positive
Agree it is good to have more choice
Agree new alternatives need introduced
Believe more environmentally sustainable options to
cremation are required
UK Market Research
Virtually a quarter of
45+’s would definitely
consider Resomation®
for themselves
Although lower than the level
of consideration for
themselves, nearly 1 in 5
would consider Resomation®
for their loved one
Bradshaw Minnesota Public Uptake
“ I have been quite amazed
at the rapid uptake by our
families and already of those
who would normally have
chosen flame cremation over
75% have went with
Resomation (Green
Cremation) “
Summary of Resomation Benefits
Environmental
 No Mercury emissions from teeth amalgam
 Uses 1/7th the energy of cremation
 Reduces the carbon footprint over a cremation
funeral by 35%
Other Benefits
 Jewellery and implants recovered in pristine
condition
 Resomation follows same procedures as standard
Cremation- no visible change for public.
 More choice for the public
Change....
”Change will not come if we wait for some
other person or some other time.
We are the ones we've been waiting for. We
are the change that we seek.”
…Barack Obama
Thank you for Listening