JC Atkinson

How “green” are our Coffins?

What are our coffins made of?

The majority of coffins are made using oak, mahogany and elm style veneers, which are laminated on to chipboard or medium density fibre board (MDF). All are Forest Stewardship Council certified. The coffins are made in a factory with low CO2 emissions, using green electricity powered by our own carbon neutral biomass generator.

How is chipboard and MDF used in the coffins made?

Both are made in a similar way. The chipboard is made with a high content of recycled wood waste from the urban waste stream. The balance is from other forest residues. The wood is cleaned and chipped then pressed with heat and glue to make a usable joinery board, which is then used within the making of the coffins.

Is the chipboard for the coffins full of harmful chemicals?

No. It is approximately 83% wood, 10% glue and 7% moisture. The glue has to contain a very small amount of formaldehyde, a natural organic compound which evidence supports to be harmless in such low levels. In one tonne of board the amount of formaldehyde is less than 70g equivalent to two bags of crisps. This low level gives the board its E1 standard - the best available. No other toxins or dioxins are contained within the board or are produced in its manufacture, therefore there are no harmful chemicals in the coffins we make.

How is the coffin polished?

The coffin is polished using specialist lacquers. For the majority, a water-based, rather than solvent-based lacquer (which contain climate changing volatile organic compounds - VOC’s) is used. The polish, when dry, is biodegradable and suitable for burial and cremation.

Is the coffin suitable for woodland burial?

The coffin is biodegradable. During burial it degrades without any harmful residue. You may wish also to pay attention to the types of handles and lining used, as these can also be biodegradable.

Is the coffin suitable for cremation?

During cremation, as the wood on the coffin burns it aids the process of cremation without any harmful emissions. As a result of combustion the amount of CO2 released from the coffin is offset by the CO2 it used during its growing life as a tree. This is why wood is classed as a biomass and considered carbon neutral.

How “green” is our coffin factory?

We wanted to be unbeatable in leading the environmental way in coffin manufacturing, by having the first low carbon technology coffin making factory. To do this we:

1. Reduced our electricity consumption by installing energy efficient equipment.
2. Installed our own combined heat and power generator. This burns our waste wood to supply all our electricity requirements and supply excess to the national grid and it supplies the hot water needed for our automated heating tunnel, this would facilitate the change from VOC to water based polishes.

This is how it works:

• All the wood machines’ dust extraction are centrally collected.

  

• Waste off cuts of wood produced as a result of shaping the coffins are recycled into wood chips, we only use Forest Stewardship Council certified, or similar accredited sustainable, wood.

  

• Using a waste wood chipper, we then break the coffin off cuts wood up into small woodchip pieces.

  

• These are then transferred into a wood chip silo, for bulk storage.

  

• They are then fed into the combustion unit using a screw feed system.

  

• These burn in a special combustion unit at around 600 degrees.

  

• These units are heavily insulated in order to conserve the heat for use elsewhere.

  

• Cold air is forced into the unit using the turbine. This is then heated so that it expands greatly. As the cold air expands it spins a turbine as it moves out.

  

• Driving this turbine creates enough electricity to power the factory and more. After the turbine, the heat passes through a water boiler, heating the pressurised water to 150 degrees.

  

• The electricity is linked to the National Grid using special invertors that synchronise the voltage and frequency. The hot water is pumped to our product drying line of production.

  

• Finally, the waste gases leftover pass up through the combustion chamber and the flue, and finally into the atmosphere. These emmissions are tested to make sure they are Environmental Protection Agency compliant.

  

• The hot water is use to create hot air for drying the coffins once they have been painted and sprayed.

  

• This drys our coffins at a much quicker rate allowing us to use solvent VOC free polishes on our coffins. VOCs are 15 times more harmful to the environment than CO2.

  

A Tree Tribute for Our Coffins

J C Atkinson are continually looking for the best solutions to environmental problems caused by manufacturing coffins. We are proud of the achievements we have made over the years.

For every solid wood coffin or casket we manufacture, we will plant a deciduous native sapling tree in our designated woodland in Northumberland. Alternatively, we are happy to donate trees for planting to a worthy cause which will benefit a community (subject to discretion).

For a full list of products that are part of the Tree Tribute initiative, please view our Oakland Solid Range of coffins and also our Oakland Caskets.