Pontes uses ecological urns for dignified transport of ashes

Following the debate in the Flemish Parliament and media reports about the use of aluminium bags by some crematoria for transporting ashes, we are pleased to present the ecological urn used by Pontes crematoria.

Flemish regulations stipulate that every crematorium must deliver the ashes of a deceased person who has been cremated in a hermetically sealed urn. Every crematorium is required to provide a standard transport urn for this purpose, in order to hand over the remains of the deceased to the funeral director.

Since last year, Pontes has been using the new Ocean Urn, which was developed especially for Flemish crematoria and is made from recycled plastic waste from seas and oceans (fishing nets, ropes, etc.). This new urn replaced an older, standard steel urn, which was not produced in an environmentally friendly way.

This ecological urn offers a high-quality solution for the transport of ashes in accordance with Flemish regulations and fits in with Pontes' vision, which focuses not only on dignified and respectful but also sustainable services for the deceased and their relatives.

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88% of people in Flanders want freedom of choice in funerals

Study by University of Antwerp shows openness to aquamation alongside burial and cremation

Nearly nine in ten people in Flanders (Belgium) believe they should be free to choose how they say their final goodbye, whether through burial, cremation or new forms of funeral such as aquamation. That is the outcome of academic research conducted by University of Antwerp among 3,275 residents of Flanders. Aquamation is an alternative funeral method in which the body is not cremated or buried, but is instead broken down in an accelerated process in a cylinder filled with warm water. One in five people in Flanders would consider aquamation if the method were legally permitted. The study shows that societal support in Flanders for making such new options available alongside existing forms of funeral is clearly growing.