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Eternal Reef Offers
Alternative to Cremation Urns ATLANTA,
Georgia, August 20, 2002 (ENS) - An Atlanta company offers
an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burials
- adding ashes to artificial reefs.
Eternal Reefs, Inc. incorporates cremated remains into a
concrete mixture used to cast Reef Ball artificial reef
formations. The artificial reefs are dedicated as permanent
living memorials while bolstering natural coastal reef
formations.
The company was created to provide an alternative to
keeping a loved one's ashes. According to the company's
website, "an Eternal Reef combines a cremation urn, ash
scattering and a burial at sea into one meaningful permanent
environmental tribute to life."
One of Eternal Reefs memorial reef balls. (Photo
courtesy Eternal Reefs)"The entire consciousness
of memorialization is changing," said Don Brawley, president
of Eternal Reefs Inc. "People want to do the right thing with
their loved ones' remains, and we offer the only
environmentally positive burial option."
The company has created and added to designed reef sites in
Sarasota and Marco Island, Florida, working with
municipalities to use their permitted locations for
deployments. Eternal Reefs Inc. inaugurated the first
community reef in the United States in Charleston, South
Carolina, partnering with McAlister-Smith funeral home. The
Charleston launch was the first community reef in which 25
memorials with cremated remains were deployed at the same
time.
On Monday, Eternal Reefs announced that Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida will be the next U.S. reef site to include its
memorial reef balls. The Ft. Lauderdale deployment is
scheduled for October 1, 2002. Eternal Reefs will provide
Broward County, Florida with 15 Reef Ball memorial reefs to
help develop local reef ecosystems.
Cremation is growing in the United States, and by 2010, the
procedure may be included in 40 percent of funerals, according
to the Cremation Association of North America. About 45
percent of the families that have chosen cremation still have
the remains at home sitting on a shelf or in a closet.
More information about Eternal Reefs Inc. is available at:
http://www.eternalreefs.com/
More information about Reef Balls is available at: http://www.artificialreefs.org/ | 
