Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509248
13 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 OCTOBER 2023 PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT OF CALL UNDER EAFRD 2014-2020 The Ministry responsible for EU Funds pre-announces the issuing of the following call under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020: • Sub-Measure 10.2: Support for conservation and sustainable use and development of genetic resources in agriculture. The call will open on the 16 th October 2023 and will close on the 12 th January 2024 at noon. For more information about the call and to register for the information session to be held on the 23 rd October 2023, kindly contact us on fondi.eu@gov.mt or by calling on 2779 7300. lus, claiming the remains of the body would "get drained into the sewage system". But Muscat says this is incor- rect. While the product is the same as normal crematorium, Muscat insists that bodies cre- mated by fire are never 100% recovered in ashes. "When a body is burnt in a cre- matorium, the ashes have to be swept out of the oven, and it is never fully cleaned – with aqua- mation, the process is clean and efficient, sterilises any bacteria, and there is absolutely no DNA that gets left in the water. No- body is getting 'washed down the drain'," she says. Additionally, cremation by fire requires a lot of fuel, globally re- sulting in over 6.8 million met- ric tons of carbon dioxide every year, accounting for around 0.02 percent of world carbon di- oxide emissions – enough that some environmentalists are try- ing to rethink the process. "I would never advocate for something that would create a plume of smoke over Malta from some chimney," Muscat says, who estimates that a basic aquamation service would start from €1,500 – a couple of thou- sands cheaper from traditional Maltese burials. "I believe we also want to re- duce the taboo surrounding death. Apart from the ecolog- ical perspective on emissions or land space with traditional burials, I speak to many Mal- tese who feel hurt by the lack of decorum on the way people are buried – and I understand that while death is a solemn moment, many also would like to celebrate a person's life, in a ceremony where people can speak fondly of their beloved ones." It is a story common to many families: crews of dishevelled cemetery groundsmen noisily removing the concrete slabs at the Addolorata, perhaps clean- ing out the remains of the last burial as bones get placed inside a large tupperware container, and the ham-fisted manner in which the coffin is laid down in- to the grave with ropes. "Apart from the Chapel of Rest, a Garden of Remembrance will allow for some 400 colom- bariums that can hold up to six urns, for families to be en- tombed in these spaces should they wish." Little so far is said about the environmental impact of any crematorium that would op- erate by fire in Malta. In the United States, regional envi- ronmental regulations require scrubbing or filtering systems, such as after-chambers that must then burn and neutralize pollutants like mercury emis- sions from dental fillings. How- ever, these filters do not neu- tralise the CO2 generated by cremating a body, including the gas generated as a by-product of heating that body up to 600- 700 degrees Celsius or more, a process believed to create about 360,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions each year in the U.S. alone. "It's not just land and space issues," Muscat says about the need for burial spaces and their take-up of land. "Water crema- tion requires a lot less energy than cremation by fire, which send pollutants in the air and can result in deleterious resi- due." A case in point is mercury pollution when tooth fillings are vaporized: in the United King- dom, over 16% of all mercury emitted comes from cremato- ria. A report by Dutch research group TNO said resomation, or aquamation, had the lowest environmental impact of all funeral methods, for even tra- ditional burials take up space underground, and the decaying process emits methane, apart from coffins that use steel, cop- per, bronze or wood. Even for- maldehyde-based embalming chemicals can leak into the soil. For Kate Muscat, this mission is not simply about business. "I really do not want to make this about money – I would never charge a family to put a baby to rest. But I do believe in science, and cremation has a significantly smaller carbon footprint, over six times less than flame cremation and over three times less than burial. "More people are becoming increasingly aware of their own environmental footprint... even in death. Water cremation of- fers people a more natural, gen- tle and environmentally friend- ly choice." mvella@mediatoday.com.mt The organic substances of the body are dissolved in water during aquamation or eco-resomation. This process is carried out in the eco-resomation machine by a mixture of hot water and potassium hydroxide. This process is also known as alkaline hydrolysis. In order to break down the chemical compounds in the body and dissolve them in water, the machine is heated and pressurised to a temperature of approximately 180 degrees Celsius and 11 Bar. After approximately two hours, only effluent and calcium from the bones remain. The bones are washed, dried and ground into a white powder. After neutralization, the remaining liquid, the effluent, consists of water and dissolved organic substances such as sugars, amino acids, salts and fatty acids. The effluent, containing the organic substances of the deceased, can be returned to nature in the form of fertilization (cradle to cradle). The effluent contains many nutrients that are particularly beneficial to forests, fields or memorial sites. After the process, dried bones remain, which are then pulverized into a white powder. The volume of remains is about 40% more than with cremation. water can avoid harmful emissions How does aquamation or eco-resomation work?