If you are looking for an alternative to traditional burial, your main choices are going to be cremation or aquamation services near Jacksonville, NC. These two processes have many similarities, and they share many benefits. However, they involve very different methods, even if the end result is nearly the same.

Cremation services use fire to break down the body of the deceased, reducing them to skeletal remains. The person is usually put into a cremation casket, giving them a more comfortable resting place in the crematory. After cremation is complete, the family of the departed is given their remains in the form of bone ash.

Aquamation services are different from cremation in that they do not use fire at all. Rather, aquamation involves a 95% water solution with an alkaline mixture added in. The body is submerged in this solution and gently heated (never to a boil). The combination of the heat and the alkaline solution act to quickly and naturally biodegrade the body down to its skeletal remains. These are processed into bone ash and returned to the family.

As you can see, while the processes are very different, the end result is nearly the same. Many people choose one of these methods of disposition because of all the freedom it offers for memorialization and storage of their loved one’s remains. You can choose a beautiful urn to store in your home, or you may have them interred into a niche in a columbarium. You may even scatter their ashes in a beloved location, bringing them back to a place that they loved in life. There is also great freedom when it comes to planning a memorial service. You are not bound to the time constraints that a traditional funeral and burial involve. The memorial service may take place any time after the cremation or aquamation, allowing for more inclusive planning for faraway family members and friends.

Cremation and aquamation services are also generally much more inexpensive than a traditional funeral and burial would be. Neither one requires the purchase of a casket, burial plot, or embalming. Just by avoiding those three purchases, you can save thousands of dollars. This is a big factor in why people choose these services.

One of the main differences between cremation and aquamation is their environmental impact. While both are considered “greener” than traditional burial, cremation still causes the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Aquamation’s water-based process avoids these toxic gases, and the “effluent” or remaining water solution is sterile and harmless to the environment.

If you’re trying to decide between cremation and aquamation services near Jacksonville, NC, these factors may help you to come to a decision. Depending on what your priorities and beliefs are, one of these is certain to be right for your family. Regardless of which you choose, you’re likely to save a significant amount of money compared to burial, and you can feel better about the environmental impact as well. Call your funeral home at any time for more details on cremation and aquamation services.