Chances are, if you or someone you know has a metal implant from a surgery such as a hip or knee replacement, you probably have never thought about what would happen to that implant upon cremation.
Even with temperatures in excess of 1600°F during the cremation process, metal implants withstand the heat. At our facilities, these parts are placed aside and given to a metal recycling company that will then melt the parts down to be recycled.
For these metal implants, we receive a nominal fee, which we in turn donate back to the community by providing cremations to the poor.
Do you have a question pertaining to cremation, funerals or death that you’d like to ask? We always welcome your questions. Please comment below, or email josee@phaneuf.net to submit a question.
I found screws and metal wires in my mother’s cremated ashes. What are they because my mom never had any surgery that would make her have screws and wires in her body. I wanted to keep my mother’s ashes and occasionally sprinkle them in the garden over her best flowers as we duscussed with her. Please explain and advise on if I can still keep the ashes. I’m just worried I’m not keeping mixed ashes of my mom and someone else who was or were cremated before her. We never know these days.
If there are metal pieces in your cremains that you don’t think belong there, I recommend bringing them back to the funeral home or crematory who did the cremation for an explanation. If we performed your cremation, please contact me directly. ~Buddy Phaneuf