52% of Americans think embalming is needed for a cremation.

Alternately, some believe that cremation circumvents embalming and cosmetizing the body.

Neither is true. If you wish to avoid embalming, you must make that clear in advance.



There are two types of cremation: direct and indirect. Direct means you are cremated without embalming, without a funeral service, without a casket, without delay, and without a major financial hit. Indirect cremation usually consists of a viewing, for which the body may be embalmed – both of which can cost a lot of money.



Any implants, like pacemakers, will explode, and must be removed before cremation. Mercury fillings are not destroyed, but instead unleashed into the atmosphere. Now that cremation is the most preferred option for interment in the US, this pollution can be significant.



The cremation process leaves bone fragments, which are collected into a cremulator to crush them down to 'ashes.' These are returned to the next-of-kin.

Unlike in India, Japan, and other parts of the world, cremation in America is rarely perfomed in the presence of loved ones.

Thus, while a memorialization may help with a sense of closure, the cremation process rarely contributes to it.

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Cremation is a relatively affordable interment option.

  • Costs often range between $500-1,500.
  • You do not have to pay for a casket or vault, cemetery or transportation fees.
  • But cremation does not include memorialization.
  • And a funeral director may require embalming for memorialization, adding to the cost.

While cremation is more environmentally sustainable than traditional burial, it's certainly not carbon-neutral.

  • It takes about 28 gallons of fuel to cremate one body.
  • Cremation releases millions of tons of CO2 per year.
  • Crematories are a major source of mercury emissions from melted dental fillings.
  • In some countries, cremation accounts for 16% of airborne mercury pollution.
  • Hindu cremations are usually performed on outdoor funeral pyres, requiring millions of trees.
  • Cremation does not circumvent embalming, which has its own environmental impact.

Cremation is rarely performed as a public ceremony; while most crematoria allow for witnesses, the options is rarely used.

  • Memorialization is usually performed separately.
  • 'Cremains' are the crushed bone matter remainiing from the exposure to high heat; they are grinded down in a cremulator and usually placed in an urn for families to take home.

Many religions have strict limitations on cremation.

  • Most Christians faiths now accept cremation as an option,
  • but the Catholic church banned it until 1963.
  • In 2016, the Vatican specified that cremains should not be spread at sea or in the air, but instead be kept in a 'sacred place.'
  • This is not an option for a Jewish Orthodox or Muslim burial, as cremation is not allowed.
  • Cremation is the primary form of interment in Buddhism & Hinduism.

Cremation rates vary greatly by country.

  • It is ubiquitous in countries like Japan, with rates as high as 99.97%.
  • As of 2018, 53.1% of Americans are cremated.
  • Yet the rate in Columbia is as low as 2%.