Bradwell Crematorium recycling scheme raises £14k for memorial fund
The recycling company then recycles the higher-grade cobalt steel from these implants for companies manufacturing new implants, while lower grade metal is recycled elsewhere
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has donated £14,000 to the Nathan Butler Memorial Fund, after recycled metal retrieved from cremations at Bradwell Crematorium were sold to a specialist recycling company.
With the consent of bereaved families, orthopaedic implants such as knee or hip replacement joints are reclaimed after services at the crematorium.
The recycling company then recycles the higher-grade cobalt steel from these implants for companies manufacturing new implants, while lower grade metal is recycled elsewhere.
The Nathan Butler Memorial Fund is named after a young sportsman from Porthill, Newcastle, who died in 2006 at the age of 16 from an undetected heart condition.
The donation will fund around 200 heart tests in the Newcastle area for men and women aged 14 to 35, who may be at risk of hereditary heart disease, and will be organised by the Cardiac Risk for the Young (CRY) charity, which the Nathan Butler Memorial Fund supports.
David Hutchison, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Environment at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said: “The story of Nathan Butler’s untimely death and how his parents Angela and Phil reacted to launch the memorial fund to help other young men is both tragic and inspirational.
“Each single scan has the potential to save a life and I am delighted that the money raised through the generosity of the bereaved families using Bradwell Crematorium will be used this way to support local families.”
