Green Economy Journal Issue 62

SOCIETY
A gentler, greener
alternative
cremation…Aquamation
AVBOB is proud to offer AVBOB policyholders and non-policyholders a more serene way of seeing off
AQUAMATION
An eco-friendly burial alternative
Going green is an imperative for AVBOB as an evolving business.
It aligns with the Group’s purpose and helps us contribute to a
climate-friendly environment. Aquamation is an eco-friendly,
water-based cremation option with a decreased carbon footprint.
cycle of life.
Aquamation provides families with the choice of a kinder, more respectful process, with substantially more
of the beloved’s ashes returned to the family. And, for those who are concerned about the environmental
Aquamation offers…
A natural biomimicry process, with no emission of harmful greenhouse gases or mercury
20% to 30% more ash remains returned to the family
Aquamation: Gentler for your loved one… and our planet.
For more information contact the following branches:
AVBOB Funeral Service Pretoria West
294 Es'kia Mphahlele Drive, Pretoria West, 0183
(012) 327 0320
AVBOB Maitland
451 Voortrekker Road, Maitland, Cape Town, 7405
(021) 593 8553
AVBOB launched the first Aquamation facility at its Maitland
branch in Cape Town in 2019 followed by another facility at
the Pretoria West branch in 2022, where both are available
to private clients and policyholders.
When AVBOB introduced Aquamation in South Africa, the
organisation considered the rich and diverse range of cultures,
different religious practices and beliefs, as well as social norms in
the country. Providing a dignified send-off for loved ones has been
part of AVBOB’s DNA for over 105 years, and it was central to our
introduction of this innovation.
Aquamation helps address the challenges faced with traditional burial:
• Limited burial space. Municipal cemeteries have been running
out of burial space in many of the major metropolitan areas in
South Africa.
• The burden of upkeep. Cemeteries require upkeep, which places
the obligation of maintenance on communities.
While flame-based cremation as a burial alternative doesn’t face
the abovementioned challenges, it does have an environmental
downside – its carbon footprint is sizable as it requires the burning
of substantial amounts of fossil fuels. Cremation is energy intensive
and causes air pollution, even with the most stringent emission
regulations.
Going green
Aquamation or alkaline hydrolysis, also known as flameless cremation,
water cremation and bio-cremation, has been in use in various
applications for many years. AVBOB has, however, been at the forefront
of developing this innovative and gentle procedure in South Africa.
“We conducted intense research into Aquamation over the past six
years, which included visits to facilities in the US and consultations
with our partners, as well as strategic planning,” says Adriaan Bester,
AVBOB General Manager: Corporate Affairs.
The Aquamation process takes four to six hours to complete and
eliminates the direct emission of greenhouse gases or mercury into
the environment. It also ensures an energy saving of 90% compared
to flame-based cremation. In other words, its carbon footprint is only
a 10th of the carbon footprint of flame cremation.
At the core of the process is water – a natural and essential part of
life that makes up approximately 60% of our bodies. The Aquamation
process uses only about 600 litres of water. This is equivalent to the
amount of water used by a single household in a day. The process
renders all chemicals safe upon its completion, and at its end, a benign
sterile liquid (containing no trace of DNA and RNA) remains, which
is recycled back into the municipal wastewater system.
The process
The body is respectfully laid out in a receptacle that is placed in a
sterile, stainless-steel chamber. A combination of moderate temperature
water, alkalinity (not acid), and gentle water flow breaks down the
soft tissue of the body to its basic building blocks. The alkali used
in this case is potassium hydroxide salts.
The bones (calcium) remain, which are powdered and presented
to the family in an urn in the same manner as with flame-based
cremation. Families receive 20% to 30% more ashes with Aquamation
and can either keep or scatter the ashes as per the deceased’s wishes.
About AVBOB Mutual Society
The AVBOB Group comprises AVBOB Mutual Assurance Society, which
provides insurance products, and two subsidiaries – AVBOB Funeral
Service, which provides funeral services, and AVBOB Industries,
which manufactures our coffins and funeral ware.
A society on a mission to create shared value
Being a mutual society means that AVBOB has no external shareholders
but instead has members (our policyholders) who receive a share
of AVBOB’s surplus profits. The foundation of our mutuality is to
create and share value with our members. As a responsible corporate
citizen, we proudly live our values for the benefit of our members
and the communities in which they live, so that generations to
come will also benefit from our legacy. Our mutual status drives
our ethos, purpose, and competitive differentiation – it is the core
of our existence.
Call Centre: 0861 28 26 21 (24-hour funeral service assistance)
General email address: info@avbob.co.za
Complaints email address: complaints@avbob.co.za
Website: www.avbob.co.za
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