Thursday, July 19, 2012

Recycling Artificial Body Parts After Cremation

It looks like an ordinary factory workshop – hundreds of containers full of metal are being processed. People are hard at work sorting out the mountains of metal. Welcome to OrthoMetals, a company recycling metals from crematoria. Containers from all over Europe end up in the town of Zwolle to the northeast of Amsterdam. After a process involving magnets, conveyor belts and sorting by hand, the metals are stored in various bins. They go on to be sold to companies which will melt them down and give them a new lease of life. The crematoria are paid for the metal and give the money to charity.

Photo credit: Maike Winters

Photo credit: Maike Winters

An employee of OrthoMetals separates parts for recycling on a conveyer belt in a warehouse in Zwolle, eastern Netherlands, on Nov. 14. Imperishable body parts are recovered from the ashes of cremated people, and precious metals are also recovered by the crematoria and offered to the family or placed in the urn. Photo credit: Peter Dejong / AP 

Photo credit: Maike Winters

An employee of OrthoMetals sifts through coffin ornaments on a conveyer belt, rear, as parts of hip implants are seen in a box in the foreground. Photo credit: Peter Dejong / AP

Stripped gold-plated crucifix coffin ornaments are seen on a conveyer belt during the recycling process. Photo credit: Peter Dejong / AP

Photo credit: Maike Winters

Implants and other materials are collected in a bag for recycling at the OrthoMetals warehouse.  Photo credit: Peter Dejong / AP

Photo credit: Maike Winters

Photo credit: Maike Winters

Photo credit: Maike Winters

Photo credit: Maike Winters

Photos by Maike Winters can be found here
Photos by Peter DeJong can be found here

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