The costs of transporting the dead have more than doubled since 2013. This is shown by a new overview in Grav24. The main explanation for the increased expenses is the “cremation trend”, and that the road to the nearest crematorium can be long. The state sponsors the stretcher transport if the distance to the “nearest natural burial ground” is more than 20 kilometres. In the nineties, less than a third of all Norwegians were cremated. By 2025, the cremation percentage will cross 50 per cent, and it is expected that it “will rise even steeper” in the future. In the Norwegian context, cremation has gone from “theologically indefensible” to a practice of necessity as churchyards in Kristiania were overloaded at the turn of the 20th century. A hundred years later, lack of space, economy and environmental concerns make cremation a desirable policy. – More use of cremation is good, because it means that graves can be reused in a more efficient way. It saves society resources and preserves land for other purposes, says Randi Moskvil Letmolie, who is department director at KA. But in recent years, the cremation trend has been overtaken by its own popularity. In the Norwegian context, cremation has gone from “theologically indefensible” to a practice of necessity as churchyards in Kristiania were overloaded at the turn of the 20th century. Photo: Narve Skarpmoen/National Library The need is 50,000, the capacity is 28,000 Projections show that Norway will have to handle 50,000 cremations annually in 2060. That is 76 per cent more than the capacity of Norwegian crematoria today. According to the report “Kremationsverksemda i Noreg” there are not enough crematoria in Norway, “neither in the short or long term”. As of today, there are 25 crematoria in Norway, which according to reports have been overloaded. – With 24/7 cremation, a cooling problem arises, says a supplier of omnar to Grav24. In addition, cleaning requirements make it expensive to build a crematorium with a larger capacity than 200 coffins a year. – We are approaching the capacity limit, says Anne Bjordal Jønsson, who is head of the Graveyard Authority in Bergen. Bergen currently has one of the highest cremation rates in Norway, and handles cremations for the majority of Vestland county. Jønsson says they “can increase the capacity somewhat with longer work sessions”, but that there are “limits to what the other person tolerates”. – The need is increasing. The question is what the “ceiling” is. – We are approaching the capacity limit, says Anne Bjordal Jønsson at Møllendal crematorium in Bergen (pictured). Photo: Norwegian Association for Cemetery Culture – We need more crematoria across the country In its input to the Corona Commission, KA underlines that the number of crematoria is a vulnerable point in Norwegian preparedness. – Unfortunately, the cremation capacity is not good enough to face the future. We need more crematoriums across the country. The challenge is that they are expensive to build and that the municipalities have no obligation to offer cremation, says the KA director. Human-Ethical Association Christian Lomsdalen, leader of Human-Ethical Association, answers this – It is clear that there is not enough cremation capacity in Norway, and it is important that the funeral administration and the politicians in Norwegian municipalities take responsibility. Although there is some extra capacity in some places, there is still a long way between crematoria and there is an increase in the desire to be cremated. This is in addition to the problems that we know exist with a view to expanding the burial grounds around and the problems linked to the soil in many places. At the same time, there is a lot of room for improvement and development in this area. With the amendments to the Funeral Act, it is open to trial schemes linked to death management. Norwegian burial practices have changed little since cremation was permitted at the beginning of the last century. Some places in the country have started to look at the possibility of introducing projects linked to, for example, water cremation. There are also other possible technologies that can be tested. For example, recomposting. These are technologies that may be easier to introduce in smaller municipalities where a crematorium would be too big an investment. It is also important that Norwegian municipalities ensure that they have good open-minded ceremony rooms available to all their residents. This is important in order to ensure equal treatment of all residents of the municipalities, regardless of religion or belief, and to avoid unnecessary transport of the deceased and their families to and from ceremony rooms in other municipalities. In 2014, the public report “Equality and equality” recommended giving municipalities a stronger incentive to build crematoria. Nine years later, the bill to equate cremation with coffin burial has come to nothing. – If the report had been listened to, we would have had a completely different financial incentive to find a suitable crematorium structure. Now we are suddenly waking up to the consequences of the coincidences getting raw, says Bjarne Kjeldsen, who has written the report “Crematorium business in Norway”. He points out that the Graveyards Act is clear when it comes to responsibility for coffin graves, but that responsibility for the construction and operation of a crematorium is not anchored in the same way. – Now there are signs that small municipalities that have not had a tradition of cremation are starting to ask about the practice. If this continues, it could have very unmanageable consequences, he says. – Upgraded crematorium ovens are able to operate almost 24 hours a day Monika Holm Svinsholt, day-to-day manager at Vestfold Crematorium – It is possible to upgrade and install filters in those of the crematoria that do not currently have filters. The capacity will then be able to increase further without building new crematoriums. On a national basis, there are an average of 421 cremations per week. Today, we have a remaining capacity of 250 cremations per week. If the crematoria that do not have filters today install filters, we will have a residual capacity of 510 cremations. New crematorium ovens are able to operate almost 24 hours a day. This is not included in our figures, but if existing crematorium ovens are replaced with new ones, the capacity will increase considerably. We therefore believe that there is no immediate danger that we are not sufficiently prepared for a possible increase in the cremation percentage. Bjarne Kjeldsen, Advisor for church, culture and upbringing in the Trade Union – Another factor is emission requirements and technology. Today’s requirements for cleaning make it very expensive to build a crematorium that will cremate more than 200 coffins a year. If we look at the statistics, most of the crematoria without a cleaning line are completely at max. There is reason to believe that most of these could handle the need in the surrounding area in a good way with a small increase. In view of the overall environmental impact of the burial area, the emission requirement seems not very purposeful – rather counterproductive. Here there is a need for a thorough professional review. On paper, water cremation may appear to be a good alternative. Especially where there will be no basis for a large crematorium with daily operations. The problem is that it takes a while to take on the role of first man out here – for many reasons. Sissel Vartdal, Sunnfjord parish council – We have reported the need for a crematorium to the municipality. We did this last year in connection with input into the municipality’s spatial plan. We will repeat this this spring when we come up with input for the municipality’s financial plan. With people’s attitude towards cremation, an increase in burials going forward and a growing awareness of not using more natural land than necessary, plans for a crematorium should probably be intensified. I will follow up on this quite concretely towards the lease in the municipality. Alf Bergin, former editor of the journal Gravplassen – We see a tendency for cremation as a form of burial to also increase outside the big cities. Knut Magne Nesse, provost in Sunnfjord – Coffin burial is still what most people want here in our area, but there is probably a slight increase in cremation. Most cremations in Sunnfjord go to Bergen. Some in Nordfjord are sent north to Sunnmøre. – I am aware of the reports that point to possible capacity challenges for crematoria, says Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe. Photo: Tom Balgaard The Minister of State: – We will need greater crematorium capacity Last year the Storting passed amendments to the Funeral Act which opens up for “experiments as deviations from the law, typically new forms of burial which are made possible with the help of new technology”. Examples are freeze-drying, rapid composting and “resomation”, a kind of cremation where water and lye replace the flames. The Norwegian Funeral Act falls under the Ministry of Children and Families. – I am aware of the reports that point to possible capacity challenges for crematoria. Statistics Norway’s population projections show that we will need greater crematorium capacity, says Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe. She points out that the burial grounds are a local responsibility, but it is up to the ministry to assess whether there is a need for measures to meet the challenge of crematoria capacity. – The government has not taken a position on such an assessment. In any case, the need for regulatory changes and financial consequences must be clarified in more detail. The rule is that at all times there must be vacant graves corresponding to 3 percent of the population in a municipality. Photo: News player
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More cremation causes Norwegian crematoria to “get hotter” – news Vestland
