Crematorium donation to bereavement charity

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s Kent and Sussex Crematorium has donated £12,000 to Jigsaw (South East).

This donation is thanks to the generosity of families who have kindly made the decision to recycle their loved ones’ replacement joints and pacemakers following cremation.

Jigsaw is a child bereavement charity offering information, advice and guidance to help support bereaved children and young people facing the death of a loved one. The charity supports families across Kent, Surrey, parts of West Sussex and surrounding areas.

Councillor Luke Everitt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Sustainability and Carbon Reduction said: ‘Jigsaw is a fantastic local charity. It is great that this donation will enable them to directly support more young people at a most difficult period of their life. Those at Jigsaw who provide this vital service have my deepest gratitude and respect.
‘My heartfelt thanks goes too to the bereaved families who supported the recycling scheme and so enabled this donation to be made.’
Luke presented the donation to Jigsaw’s Business and Development Manager, Carolyn Steer.

The crematorium is part of the national recycling scheme run by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM). Following a cremation there may be metals from orthopaedic implants such as joint replacements as well as metal from the coffin which can be recycled. Metals are recycled with the express consent of bereaved families and the money raised is gifted to local charities with a link to bereavement.

Since it started in 2007, the ICCM Recycling of Metals Scheme has raised over £13.5 million for bereavement-related charities. This incredible amount is made possible by bereaved relatives giving their consent for the metals to be recycled, and by cremation authorities and companies signing up to the innovative scheme.