There were already electric funeral cars, natural cemeteries and bio-coffins, but cremation in electric ovens was not yet possible in Brabant. Until now. Crematorium Maaslanden in Nieuwkuijk has been renovated and is completely off gas. “We are now completely energy neutral. And that makes a huge difference with 2000 cremations per year,” says location manager Yvonne Kielenstijn.
You may not think about it when you have to take a loved one away, but if something is bad for the environment, it’s cremation. A gas oven uses about 50 cubic meters of gas per cremation. About as much as 250 short showers. But at the crematorium in Nieuwkuijk that is a thing of the past.
“It also gives the funeral directors more time to reflect on the family.”
Yvonne shows the brand new ovens. Where the doors previously had to be opened manually, now everything is done automatically. Even sliding the box inside. “As soon as we press start on the screen, the door opens. Then the input table with the deceased on it slides in.”
“An electric cremation takes a little longer than with a gas oven.”
There is actually little difference during the combustion process. Instead of a blue flame, electrical panels at the bottom of the oven set the box on fire. “And these ovens maintain a constant temperature,” explains Yvonne. “The panels are always above 700 degrees.”
An electric cremation also takes a little longer. “On a gas oven, a cremation takes about an hour and a half, now about twenty minutes longer.” How exactly that works is a technical story, but the bottom line is that an electric oven uses energy more efficiently.
You would think that all that electricity must also be generated, but that is also done sustainably. 200 solar panels on the roof of the crematorium keep the ovens running. “And if they don’t supply enough power in the winter, for example, we buy green energy,” says Yvonne.
“It has become more important in society that you operate energy-efficiently.”
The renovation of the crematorium took half a year. In addition to electric ovens, the rooms have also become more modern. High walls have been replaced by large windows, so that relatives can look into nature. “Death is less of a taboo these days and we talk about it openly,” says Yvonne. “This open character is part of that.”
And what do the next of kin themselves think of the switch to sustainable cremations? “They are really busy saying goodbye when someone dies,” says Yvonne. “But of course it has become more important in society that you do business energy-efficiently. So we are happy that we are now also contributing to this.”
