Here at Threadgill’s Memorial Services, we offer gentle, eco-friendly alternatives to typical flame cremation.
The scientific name for this water-based process is alkaline hydrolysis. It is the same process that occurs as part of nature’s course when a body is laid to rest in the soil. We use a combination of water flow, temperature, and alkalinity to accelerate nature’s process, and it is an entirely flameless process.
Our Aqua Cremation process is an eco-friendly alternative to flame cremation and burial. It uses water instead of fire to return a body back to Mother Nature.
There are no direct emissions of harmful greenhouse gasses or mercury to the atmosphere. It is very energy efficient – greater than 90% energy savings compared to flame cremation, with 1/10th of the carbon footprint.
Virtually zero. The Aqua Cremation process uses less water than a single household uses in one day. This includes all of the water used for the process, along with the clean water rinses of the final remains and vessel.
Trusted institutions have chosen this process for bodies donated to medical science for over 20 years. Most recently, the MAYO Clinic, UCLA Medical School, and UTSW Medical School have chosen this process for their willed body programs.
The traditional memorial ceremony and returning of the ashes remains unchanged. In fact, families receive more ash remains from this process, on average a 20% increase.
Green (or natural) burial emphasizes simplicity and environmental sustainability. The body is neither cremated nor prepared with chemicals such as embalming fluids. It is simply placed in a biodegradable coffin or shroud and interred without a concrete burial vault. The grave site is allowed to return to nature. The goal is complete decomposition of the body and its natural return to the soil. Only then can a burial truly be “ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” a phrase so often used when we bury our dead.
Green burials are not new. Most burials before the mid-19th century were conducted this way, as are many Jewish and Muslim burials today. Green burials are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, for a number of reasons:
Threadgill’s Memorial Services, LLC
Phone: 503-526-3952
4815 SW Jamieson Road, Beaverton, OR
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