Crematorium raises £12,000 by recycling hips and jewellery from bodies

Council staff at Greenock Crematorium raised thousands for Ardgowan Hospice through the metal recycling scheme.

Greenock Crematorium raises thousands of pounds by recycling metals from bodies Inverclyde council via Supplied

A council has raised thousands of pounds for a local hospice by entering a crematorium into a scheme that recycles leftover metals from bodies such as hips, joints and jewellery.

Inverclyde council staff at Greenock Crematorium have raised £12,000 for Ardgowan Hospice after being awarded funding from the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM).

The crematorium, which has been part of the initiative for years but is the first to receive a cash award, melts down any unwanted metals before recycling them in a bid to be more environmentally-friendly.

Materials can range from metal hips, joints and jewellery, all of which is only used after obtaining consent forms from the families involved.

Councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde’s convener of environment and regeneration, thanked the bereaved families and said “their consent allowed this to happen”.

He added: “This is a fantastic sum of money for Ardgowan Hospice thanks to our environmental and commercial services team who run the crematorium and ICCM.

“It’s also down to bereaved families and their consent that has allowed this to happen.

“We all know about the incredible work that Ardgowan Hospice does caring for family and friends and also supporting their loved ones and it’s important that we do all we can to help them to continue providing vital services to people right across Inverclyde and this donation I’m sure will be a timely boost for the charity, particularly in the current cost of living crisis which is having an impact on us all.”

Ardgowan Hospice, which supports around 1,000 people and families per year, relies on over 60% of its running costs through donations and fundraising.

Joanna Hunter, Ardgowan Hospice fundraising manager, said: “We are delighted to be the first charity locally to benefit from the ICCM’s recycling of metals scheme and we can’t thank them enough and Inverclyde Council for thinking about Ardgowan Hospice and putting us forward for this donation.

“We rely heavily on our local area for donations so this £12,000 will help us continue to provide care and support to people living with a life limiting illness and their families when they need us most.”

ICCM donated almost £1.8m to good causes in its latest round of funding – taking the overall total to over £15m since the scheme started.

Trevor Robson, from ICCM, said: “The ICCM Board are delighted to announce the end of another successful round of nominations and donations from the ICCM/OrthoMetals recycling of Metals scheme.

“All scheme members should be proud of their work in assisting charities and ensuring some of them survive the current economic climate and the issues of funding still facing charities after the issues of Covid-19 and the ongoing pandemic.

“In addition the biggest praise still needs to go to the families of the bereaved for their consent to allow the success of the scheme.”

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