The largest crematorium in Switzerland has created the technology for the extraction of precious metals from 6,000 bodies that are cremated annually at this facility. However, at the moment only one body out of three is selected for the filtering process.
Gold, silver and platinum nuggets that flow from bone and flesh at temperatures above 700 degrees Celsius are all that remain after the body is incinerated at the Nordheim crematorium, Switzerland's largest crematorium built in Zurich. About 6,000 bodies are cremated here every year.
Earlier this month, Nordheim created and installed a special conveyor that filters precious metals from the ashes burned in crematoria, after which the collected precious metal is sold to companies that process it for profit.
Before the introduction of the technology, there was some debate among officials as to whether the income from the sale of gold extracted from the bodies should be returned to the heirs of the deceased, or should the proceeds go to the state treasury?
At the moment, officials have chosen the second option. The recycling project is designed to generate around CHF 100,000 (€ 87,700) in Zurich every year.
The cremated or their representatives may refuse the program, in which case the ashes are returned unfiltered to the family of the deceased. The program has been officially running since September 1, 2018, but at the moment only a third of relatives agree to filtering.
Rolf Steinman, director of the Nordheim Municipal Burial and Cemetery, says in an interview with Regionaljournal: “If someone dies, we talk to relatives and before starting the filtration process, we ask if they agree that we filter any precious metals from the ashes. ? If the relatives agree, then they are given an urn with ashes, and the gold remains in the crematorium."
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In addition, in an interview with Zurich television, Mr. Steinman carefully explains and emphasizes that gold and other precious metals are not mined by the crematorium in order to make money. The main motive of the crematorium is ecology: “The utilization of raw materials is an important contribution to the protection of the environment. Gold mining, in particular, requires a lot of water and chemicals, so the crematorium even incurs some expenses."
Rolf Steinman also suggests that over time, the number of people agreeing to filtering will grow steadily, after the community of the City of Zurich appreciates the fruits of the new technology that it can still bring.
Today, according to Steiman, each crematorium in Switzerland must decide for itself: whether or not it should follow the intended path? In particular, in addition to working for the environment, the proceeds from the sale of precious metal will also be an additional incentive, so to speak, a positive side effect. Rolf Steinman expects that around 100,000 francs will be added to the city's coffers annually.
However, for now, according to press reports, the crematoria in St. Gallen, Aarau and Basel do not intend to follow in the footsteps of Zurich. “The ashes belong exclusively to relatives, not to crematoria or the state,” Ursula Lauper, spokeswoman for the St. Gallen Crematorium, told Swiss daily Blick.