Crematorium recycling scheme helps to provide a final legacy

Rather than burying people’s implants in the ground after they are cremated, many crematoria, including Worthing’s, are now handing them over to Dutch company Orthometals for recycling.

Worthing Crematorium saved 458kg of metal, worth £8,600, from going to landfill last year. All profits from the recycled implants are then donated to charity.

Manager registrar of Worthing Crematorium Ian Rudkin said: “I think it’s definitely a good idea.

“Cancer research gets a lot of money from it, which has to be a good thing. It’s part of our last legacy on earth to give something back to the living.”

Mr Rudkin said the scheme allowed people to know they would be leaving something for future generations when they passed away.

Previously, the metal items were simply buried at the crematorium, but now that is classed as landfill, which is covered by certain regulations.

According to Mr Rudkin, the majority of the implants are hip and knee replacements made from titanium.

The not-for-profit organisation collects the implants from Worthing Crematorium every six months, taking two to three 50-litre containers of metal each time.

Mr Rudkin described the idea as a “no-brainer”, adding that people cannot scatter the implants with the ashes, although relatives can ask to keep the implants in a container.