Pontes manages three crematoria, in Antwerp, Turnhout and Lommel.
Here, cremations are carried out in complete serenity by our experienced and trained staff.
Antwerp
Cremation
Cremation in Flanders
In Flanders, a deceased person can be buried or cremated. Cremation is the process of accelerating the decomposition of a human body through burning. Cremation can only take place in a crematorium. There are 12 crematoriums in Flanders, spread across all provinces. After a death, almost 78% of the next of kin in Flanders opt for cremation.
Before a deceased person can be cremated, a permit is required from the municipality where the death occurred. In exceptional cases (a suspicious death or a death abroad), this permit must be provided by the public prosecutor.
The funeral director takes care of all the administrative steps and contacts the crematorium to schedule a cremation. On the agreed day and time, he brings the coffin with the deceased to the crematorium, where the cremation will take place. A cremation is carried out according to a fully automated process that is strictly and carefully followed by our experienced and trained staff. A cremation takes at least two hours, after which the urn is delivered. The next of kin decide on the destination of the urn or the ashes.
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Attending a cremation
The crematorium’s technical area is not normally open to the public. An exception is made if the bereaved wish to be present when the coffin is brought in. This is intended as a final, private opportunity for a final farewell. Naturally, we ensure that no more than one coffin is brought in at a time.
Destination of the ashes
Following cremation, there are several options for the disposal of the deceased’s ashes. Any final wishes recorded by the deceased with the Registrar of Civil Status are always taken into account. In the absence of such wishes, the next of kin decide what should be done with the ashes.
The most common options are scattering the ashes in a scattering garden at the cemetery, placing the urn in a columbarium, burying the urn at the cemetery, and scattering the ashes at sea. Under certain conditions and following a written request from the next of kin, the ashes may also be taken home.
If the next of kin are unable to decide immediately what should be done with the ashes, the urn will be kept in storage by the crematorium for a maximum of six months. If the urn has not been collected by then, the ashes will be scattered at the nearby cemetery.
In Antwerp, it is possible to scatter ashes in the Scheldt. Click here for further information.
Ash holders
In principle, a deceased person’s ashes are a single, indivisible whole. At the request of family members, Pontes can provide a symbolic portion of the deceased’s ashes in a small urn.
Environmental management
The government imposes strict environmental standards on crematorium operators. That is why Pontes pays close attention to the preventive maintenance of its technical installations.
We also have regular emission tests carried out to measure and control our emissions. The results consistently show that Pontes succeeds in complying with the applicable environmental standards.
Coffin or shroud
The bereaved usually opt for a coffin. However, a shroud is also an option. Special legal regulations apply in this regard. For further information, please contact
the funeral director or the crematorium. Coffins and shrouds are always cremated along with the body.
Social tariff for cremation
Deceased persons who, or whose next of kin, do not have the means to arrange a funeral may apply to the OCMW in the deceased’s place of residence. Following a means test, the OCMW may decide to cover all or part of the funeral costs.
If a Public Social Welfare Centre decides to pay the full cost of the deceased’s funeral, the relevant centre may apply for a social tariff from Pontes. Pontes will then reimburse part of the cremation costs to the centre. A social tariff therefore applies:
when the competent Public Social Welfare Centre pays the full cost of the funeral and
where the OCMW is from a municipality that is a shareholder in Pontes (for an overview of Pontes’ shareholders: click here)
It is important to remember that the social tariff does not therefore apply to every municipality and that the reduction benefits the OCMW that has paid the financial costs of the funeral.
Cremation of an unborn child
If parents lose an unborn child, they may choose to say goodbye by having the child cremated. They can arrange this themselves, engage a funeral director, or have the cremation arranged through the hospital’s social services department.
The social services department is well-informed about the formalities required and the arrangements that need to be made to organise the farewell and the cremation.
It is important to contact the crematorium in advance to make an individual appointment so that we can receive the parents in the best possible circumstances.
A medical certificate from the gynaecologist is always required for the cremation of an unborn or stillborn baby.