MONEY raised from the sale of metal parts from cremated remains could be donated to family bereavement charities under new proposals by Belfast city council.
In a four year period almost two tonnes of metal was collected from the ashes of cremated bodies at Roselawn, which is Northern Ireland's only crematorium, as part of a recycling scheme.
The metal which included gold teeth and fillings, as well as metal hips and nails from coffins are removed from ashes using a magnet then collected from the site and shipped to the Netherlands in a process that began in 2010.
The money is donated to charity, but now the council is suggesting that it be used to help fund bereavement counselling services.
The plans are to be put out to public consultation with rate payers also asked how long they think the council should keep unclaimed ashes as part of a a new 'memorial management policy'.
At present ashes that remain unclaimed are scattered in the Garden of Remembrance at Roselawn but there is no official policy on how long they should be held for.
Public information drop-in sessions about the new policies are to take place across the city.
The first will be held at the Falls Bowling Pavilion on August 4 at 10am with another session will take place the same day starting at 2pm at Tullycarnet Bowling Pavilion.
On August 18, two more sessions will take place at Grove Bowling Pavilion between 10am-noon and between 2pm-4pm at Musgrave Bowling Pavilion.
A further public session will be held on Monday, August 24 between 2pm-4pm at the Cecil Ward Building, Linenhall Street in the city centre.
Progressive Unionist Party councillor Julie Anne Corr Johnston, who is chair of the committee which will oversee the proposed changes, said "clear policies" need to be put in place.
"We manage nine cemeteries across Belfast, as well as the City of Belfast Crematorium at Roselawn which offers a service for the whole of Northern Ireland.
"We recognise that bereavement is a particularly difficult time in people’s lives and want to ensure we have clear policies in place so that families know what to expect when using our services", she said.
"For this reason we are happy to have input from across the region, and I would urge as many people as possible to respond to the consultations, these are issues that affect us all.
"We are looking at things like the erection of memorials, and if cremated remains are not collected how long we should hold them before they are scattered in our Garden of Remembrance at Roselawn.
"It is important that we hear from individuals as well as those like monumental sculptors who carry out work at our cemeteries," added Ms Corr Johnston.
