The number of people opting for cremation over traditional burial may be on the rise across the United States, but nowhere is the trend more evident than in Florida.

Since 1958, the cremation rate in North America has risen from approximately 5 percent to nearly 35 percent. According to projections by the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), cremations will lead across the country by 2025. But in Lee County, Florida alone, cremations accounted for 64 percent of final arrangements made in 2008, almost twice the number of burials and entombments combined.

Economy, ecology, and geography fuel cremation trend
In addition to the reasons commonly cited for choosing cremation – such as lower costs, environmental concerns, and religious customs, for example – Florida’s geography may also contribute to the Sunshine State’s increasing cremation rate. Funeral directors say that people who relocate to sunny coastal areas often leave behind their social networks; without friends and family nearby, traditional burial in a traditional cemetery doesn’t have the significance it might have in one’s hometown.

Florida also offers some unique alternatives for the final disposition of cremains, rather than placing a stationary cremation urn in a columbarium niche or on a library shelf. For the adventurous, Celestis, Inc., a Houston-based company, will handle cremation arrangements and send the cremated remains into space via private-industry satellites launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Water lovers and those who are looking for an environmentally friendly alternative to burial, on the other hand, can have their ashes buried in artificial coral reefs in the ocean floor.

Florida is also the original home of the Neptune Society, an organization that assists people in planning their cremations in advance. Founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1973, the Neptune Society now has offices in 45 locations throughout the country.

Baby boomers, many of whom are now retiring to Florida, also contribute to the growing support for cremation in Florida and elsewhere. According to Silvia Marchini, a sales manager for the Neptune Society in Fort Myers, boomers are “not as traditional” as their parents were.

Even as cremation gains popular acceptance as a solution to the problem of cemetery overcrowding and the harsh environmental impacts inherent in traditional burial, some say cremation doesn’t go far enough to mitigate environmental concerns.

Among the latter is an Australian engineering company that hopes to import and employ a technology known as resomation. The process uses chemicals at high temperatures to dissolve human bodies, yielding liquid remains that could be used as fertilizer, as well as a dry bone residue that could be kept in a cremation urn.

Handmade Biodegradable Box Cremation Urn

Resomation uses less energy than cremation while eliminating the need to dedicate more and more land space to burials. In resomation, bodies are dissolved in lye in stainless steel cylinders comparable to pressure cookers. Although the technology is not yet in widespread use, two U.S. universities are using resomation to dispose of cadavers donated for medical research.

In 2008, the New South Wales Department of Lands released a discussion paper on sustainable disposal of corpses, detailing the plight of Sydney’s eight Crown land cemeteries, all of which are expected to be full by 2035.

Cremation is cited in the paper as one way to ease the pressure on cemeteries; however, concerns have been raised that the release of pollutants, such as mercury from dental fillings, makes cremation a less sustainable option than many think. Proponents of resomation say the technology’s big advantage is that it relies less on fossil fuels than either burial or cremation.

In recent years, pre-need contracts have been touted by some in the funeral industry as a way for consumers to control costs. Customers who sign pre-need contracts pay their funeral costs in advance in order to lock in current prices for funeral goods and services that are likely to escalate in the coming years.

Problems with pre-need contracts
While the terms of pre-need contracts can vary from one funeral home to another, the basics are the same: a person chooses a casket or cremation urn and any services he or she wants and then pays for the package either in a lump sum or in monthly installments. If the pre-need contract is paid in full at the time of death, the family won’t have to concern themselves with making funeral arrangements or scrambling to find a way to pay for them.

In some states, funeral homes or third-party sellers of pre-need contracts are allowed to take a percentage of the money up front for commissions and expenses, as well as the interest that accrues on the money paid by the consumer.

Unfortunately, there have been reports of problems with pre-need contracts from many states, from cheap, imported caskets that fail to meet the quality the consumer paid for, to a disturbing rise in funeral home fraud and mismanagement complaints. Some consumers have been unable to recover the money they prepaid after they cancel a pre-need contract, and some families have been forced to pay thousands of dollars more for funerals than the contract stipulated. In the most blatant cases of fraud, some funeral directors have essentially stolen the money from prepaid contracts and used it for their own purposes.

Another problem with pre-need funeral contracts is the fact that they’re not portable, but rather require the consumer to use the services of the funeral home that issued the contract – a significant downside in today’s mobile society.

Pre-planning makes sense
Pre-planning is another matter, however. The major difference between pre-planning and pre-need contracts is that pre-planning doesn’t require any money to change hands. For individuals who want to make sure their desires are carried out when they die and don’t wish to burden their families with worries about funeral services, caskets, burial or cremation and the like at a time when family members are likely to be overcome by grief, pre-planning may be the way to go.

Another reason we think that pre-planning makes more sense than a pre-need contract is the fact that people change their minds. If you sign a contract designating a certain type of casket and a cemetery where you wish to be buried, for example, and then later decide you’d prefer to be cremated and have some of your ashes scattered and the rest retained in a cremation urn, it’s much easier to change your plan than to amend your contract or get a refund. The same is true if you wish to add new services not considered in your contract, such as a green funeral or the use of technology to webcast your funeral.

Bottom line
Pre-planning your funeral can mean peace of mind for yourself and your family, but when it comes to paying for the arrangements, we recommend using the proceeds from life insurance or setting up a special account to save for your final expenses.

Like trimming the grocery budget or turning off extra lights in the house, consumers may look for ways to lower funeral costs, but the fact is, we all die eventually, and someone has to deal with the remains. Some funeral industry professionals are responding to the economic downturn by offering a wider range of goods and services to help people arrange their final exit in the style of their choosing.

One Funeral Director’s Response
Peter Moloney, whose family owns six funeral homes on Long Island, has made it his mission to help customers arrange unique funerals on behalf of themselves or their loved ones. From a hearse towed by a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to an ice-cream vendor in a Good Humor truck greeting mourners after a funeral, Moloney’s specialized services allow people to be remembered in ways as unique as they are. According to Moloney, 44, a fourth-generation funeral director: “You have to give people something special. If you’re not, someone else will be. That means adjusting to what people want today.”

Even in Recession, Many Opt to Go in Style
As funerals trend more toward cremation and home funerals and away from elaborate caskets with all the trimmings, consumers are driving the recession home to the funeral industry. One of the ways innovative funeral directors like Moloney are responding is by catering to individual wants and needs. For example, services for environmentally and cost-conscious families may include renting coffins and minimizing the use of chemicals, while custom amenities such as 14-karat gold mementos and personalized coffins and cremation urns appeal to people who prefer to go in style.

Growing Market
One thing funeral directors and others in the funeral industry can count on, even in economic hard times, is an endless stream of clients. And while consumer funeral spending may be on the decline, the rising number of deaths each year ensures a certain level of growth in funeral goods and services. (The annual death rate will continue to grow at about 1 percent per year through the early 2020s, corresponding to the aging of the baby boomers.)

In other words, while the recession is forcing funeral industry professionals to reconsider the goods and services they will offer and how they will deliver them, those who are prepared to adapt and evolve will continue to prosper.

And then there’s the downside – Hong Kong is crowded. At roughly 6,700 people per square mile, Hong Kong’s population density ranks third in the world. Hong Kong is so crowded, diners share tables in restaurants. So crowded, pedestrians seem to move in unison, streaming through the city like a giant river. So crowded, even the dead can’t find a place to rest.

Just to clarify, we’re not talking about traditional burials; Hong Kong moved away from in-ground burials long ago (although traditional burial is still an option in some cases – more on that later). No, we’re talking about cremated remains and the fact that Hong Kong is so crowded, securing a resting place for a cremation urn bearing a loved one’s ashes can take years.

Racing to meet demand
The magnitude of the problem was underscored on April 14. That’s the day the Hong Kong government began accepting applications for space in the nine-story Diamond Hill Columbarium, which houses 18,500 new niches. The response? Nearly 1,000 people stood in line outside the columbarium’s office on the first day of sales to submit their applications for the largest release of new niches in nearly a decade.

Trends indicate that the space crunch won’t end any time soon. The city’s annual death rate has doubled since 1970, and the entire funeral industry is scrambling to cope with the demand for services; 9,500 people are currently on the waiting list for a niche. And while the government has announced plans to open 37,000 new niches by 2012, that’s scarcely enough to accommodate the people who die in one year. Officials estimate that by 2016, there will only be niches for half the people who die each year.

A temporary solution to a permanent problem
Oh, and about that burial option we mentioned earlier? Only the wealthy need apply. Demand for burial space, what with the ongoing land shortage and rapidly aging population, has driven the price of a permanent plot to $30,000 or more. Or, a family can rent a temporary plot from the government for around $3,000 for 10 years. When the 10 years are up, the family can renew for 10 more . . . or not. If the family doesn’t renew, the remains will be exhumed and the plot yielded to someone else.

No word on what happens to the exhumed remains.

Temporary Cremation Urn

Following the death of 69-year-old Pauline Corthell, her daughter, Noel Nightingale, thought long and hard about what to do with the plastic urn that contained her mother’s cremains. Ultimately, Noel decided to honor Pauline’s memory by burying her ashes in the family’s cemetery plot in Laramie, Wyoming.

On March 28, Noel and her husband boarded an Alaska Airlines flight for Denver at Sea-Tac Airport. Before their flight, Noel reviewed the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) guidelines for transporting the deceased. She packed the urn containing her mother’s ashes in a box and placed the box in her luggage, which she checked at the airport, confident she was complying with all regulations.

Temporary Cremation Urn Package

A shocking discovery
Upon landing in Denver, Noel and her husband drove to Laramie for the burial service. The ground had been opened to receive Pauline’s cremains and a headstone was in place, but when Noel’s husband opened the suitcase and removed the urn, it felt much lighter than it had when they packed it. They discovered a note from the TSA, informing them that their luggage had been inspected; when they opened the urn, Pauline’s ashes were missing. The note did not mention what happened to the cremains.

At first Nicole blamed herself, thinking she must have done something wrong, but she had not. The TSA’s website warns that if a passenger wishes to bring a cremation urn onboard the plane in their carry-on luggage, inspectors must be able to view the urn’s contents through the x-ray machine. But Noel checked the suitcase containing the urn rather than carrying it on, and the TSA’s website clearly states:

Out of respect to the deceased and their family and friends, under no circumstances will a screener open the container even if the passenger requests this be done.

The TSA is now attempting to identify the screener who inspected Noel’s luggage and find out what was removed and why.

More guidelines for transporting cremated remains
The TSA’s website offers some additional guidelines for flying with a cremation urn:

• Cremation papers or documentation from the funeral home or crematory alone are not sufficient to allow an urn to pass through the airport security checkpoint. Inspectors must be able to view the urn’s contents on the x-ray.
• Passengers should check with the airline they will be flying, as some airlines do not allow cremated remains in checked baggage.
• Because cremation urns are made of different materials and thicknesses, passengers are encouraged to purchase an urn made of a lighter weight material that can be successfully X-rayed.

Lost luggage is a fairly common problem, and passengers can gain peace of mind by purchasing an urn that’s certain to pass inspection for carry-on. The Temporary Cremation Urn Package includes an airplane-safe black plastic temporary urn with a top-opening snap lid, a shipping box, and a plastic liner bag and twist-tie. An optional identification plate can be engraved with identifying information, reducing the risk of loss. Again, be sure to ask your airline about their policy regarding transportation of cremated remains.

Neptune Society, Inc. – an organization that provides simple cremation services for people who want cremation but don’t want to deal with a funeral home – is the company, and Las Vegas couldn’t be a more appropriate place for its meeting. Why? Because Las Vegas is the cremation capital of the nation.

Las Vegas cremations 2 to 1 above national average
According to the Cremation Association of North America, 70 percent of all final dispositions in Las Vegas in 2007 were cremations. That’s twice the national cremation rate of 35 percent, according to Shawn Myers of the National Funeral Directors Association.

Las Vegas funeral directors and national analysts alike attribute the city’s ranking to its large transient population. (Few families in Vegas are able to claim several generations buried in a given cemetery.) And while Las Vegas is the clear cremation leader, cremations in all western states except Utah outpace the national average. (Utah’s large Mormon population eschews cremations for religious reasons.)

National cremation rate also shows growth
The national cremation rate, on the other hand, has risen gradually over the past 10 years. Dion Joannou, the CEO of Neptune, believes the change can be linked to deaths among Baby Boomers, who are less likely than their parents to adhere to traditional customs. Others point out a simple matter of economics – many people choose cremation because it less expensive, while others are selling burial plots for cash and opting for cremation instead of burial.

Recession influences cremation urn choices
Jim Lee, funeral director at Hites Funeral Home & Crematory in Henderson, Nevada, says the effects of the economic recession can also be seen in the cremation urns people choose. Hites offers a range of cremation urns, from inexpensive plastic urns to expensive, hand-cut crystal urns, but according to Lee, “People maybe see urns like cars: You can get from point A to point B in a Cadillac but also in a Kia.”

Source: Las Vegas Sun

For funeral directors, meeting the needs of all the members of such a diverse society poses a challenge. Some funeral homes have a long tradition of serving specific demographic groups, such as African-Americans or Buddhists, while others respond to special requests for religious or cultural accommodations on a case-by-case basis. Now, more and more funeral homes are taking a proactive approach, reaching out to people from all ethnic, religious and cultural traditions.

A Family Focus
When Preciado Mortuary in San Bernardino, California opened its doors in 2001, the 400-seat facility was designed to serve extended Latino families. But owner Jerry Preciado soon found that family-friendly amenities like the funeral home’s kitchen had great appeal for first- and second-generation immigrants from other countries. Food plays an important part in the funeral customs of many cultures – various groups offer gifts of food to or on behalf of the deceased, while mourners from all backgrounds often gather over food to share nourishment for the body as well as the soul.

Honoring Religious Tradition
Many mortuaries offer support for wide-ranging religious customs as well. For Hindu families who wish to carry a loved one’s cremains to India for the traditional washing ceremony in the Ganges River, funeral directors like Hamilton Jones, of the Miller-Jones Mortuary & Crematory in Hemet, California, will write a letter to assist families in clearing customs with the cremation urn. In the case of Jewish funerals, accommodating funeral directors do everything they can to expedite all the necessary paperwork so that burial can take place within 24 hours of death, as prescribed by Jewish religious law.

Some of today’s progressive morticians, in tune with a growing desire to personalize the funeral experience, will even assist families in staging funerals at home or in other unconventional locations.

Cremation Urns Reflect Modern Trends

Modern funeral trends can also be seen in the array of unique cremation urns that are designed to reflect the personalities, lifestyles, hobbies and beliefs of the deceased whose ashes they hold. Although most people still envision a classic Grecian urn on a shelf when they think of cremation urns, choices now include motorcycle urns, religious urns, photo-frame urns, and tiny keepsake urns, to name just a few.

Cremation jewelry is another popular choice, designed to hold a tiny portion of ashes in a pendant that can be worn close to the heart. And some companies, like Memory Glass of Santa Barbara, create memorial jewelry from cremains, while others incorporate thumbprint impressions of the deceased in their creations.

A New Generation of Funeral Directors

Much of the credit for these novel trends in funeral goods and services belongs to a new generation of funeral directors, like Leo Dumont III and Andrew Hall, both of Nashua, New Hampshire. Both men earned degrees in other fields before going to work in their families’ funeral homes, while many other young adults who choose careers in funeral services have no family connection to the funeral industry. What these 20- and 30-somethings have in common are the fresh perspectives they bring to their work – innovative ideas that help to breathe new life into the funeral business.

After research and testing, the Wests acquired a patent on a process in which cremated remains of a human or pet are placed in a 5-foot wide, helium-filled balloon. The balloon is then transported to the release site, where family members say their good-byes and let go. The balloon expands as it rises slowly to an altitude of 30,000 feet, then crystallizes and bursts, releasing the ashes to the heavens.

Although the ultimate balloon ride isn’t cheap – costs run from $1,000 to $2,000 for humans and around $600 for pets, in addition to cremation costs – it is an environmentally friendly way to go. The balloon itself is biodegradable, and the process was deemed hazard-free before the patent was issued.

Awareness of Eternal Ascent’s services grew through media coverage and word-of-mouth, and in 2003 Clyde and Joan began to license franchises to funeral professionals for a fee of $20,000. Today there are five Eternal Ascent franchises in Florida, New Hampshire and Virginia.