Should Graves Be Reused?

According to Julie Rugg of the University of York’s CemeteryResearch Group, grave plots should be reused in order to address the oncomingshortfall of spaces.

Research by the BBC found about a quarter of cemeteries areexpected to be full within the next decade and about 44% within the 20 years.  And due to high cost and environmental concerns,creating new graveyards is not the answer to this shortfall. 

Reusing graves has its own troubles as well.  Graves can belong to the same families for acentury, “[s]o even after 100 years you have to find the family of the bereavedand get their permission to reuse the graves.” But Dr. Rugg says we still need to consider this as an option as it willbring money and people back into these typically abandoned and neglected places.

See BenRossington, Graves May Be REUSED asGraveyard Spaces Become Scarce, Mirror, Sept. 27, 2013.