20 Nov 2025

What exactly is a water crematorium?

From Afternoons, 1:25 pm on 20 November 2025

When we talked about how the country is running out of cemetery space last week we were inundated with your messages. So when we saw that the NZ's first water crematorium, which was opened earlier this year, is proving a popular option for people, we wanted to know more. Also called Alkaline Hydrolysis, the process claims to be gentler on people and the environment. Debbie Richards started Christchurch Water Crematorium back in June, and she joins Jesse.

Andrew Bell and Deborah Richards with their “gold standard resomator"

Andrew Bell and Deborah Richards with their “gold standard resomator" Photo: Christchurch Water Crematorium