Do cemeteries ever run out of room?

Originally Answered: Do cemeteries run out of land? Yes, they can run out of land. The cemetery I run is running out of space, we have more but it is expensive to develop and even if we did it would eventually run out.

Is the cemetery business profitable?

Cemeteries also profit through the opening and closing of grave sites, typically charging as much as the plot itself to dig the grave and then again to bury the remains. The fee can run higher if the burial takes place on a weekend or holiday.

How long does it take a coffin to rot?

If the coffin is sealed in a very wet, heavy clay ground, the body tends to last longer because the air is not getting to the deceased. If the ground is light, dry soil, decomposition is quicker. Generally speaking, a body takes 10 or 15 years to decompose to a skeleton.

Can graves be reused?

Can any grave be reused? It’s an understandable worry, but cemeteries in London can only reuse graves that are at least 75 years old. In the past, many graves were sold in perpetuity, but the Greater London Councils Act 1974 means this right can be reversed. Now, most graves are sold for between 10 and 100 years.

What happens to cemeteries when they run out of space?

Cemeteries can still monetize some of their services, like specialized gravesite and headstone maintenance, after the cemetery stops accepting new clients. But there are also some additional methods of staying open that cemeteries put to use when they run out of usable space.

What happens to a cemetery when the graveyard is full?

The unique challenge of operating a cemetery is that once the graveyard is full, you can’t sell any more of your central product: gravesites. Cemeteries can still monetize some of their services, like specialized gravesite and headstone maintenance, after the cemetery stops accepting new clients.

Is there a solution to the grave space crisis?

Rugg is unconvinced: “I am not expecting anything spectacular.” Progress on solving the grave space crisis is likely to take time, based on past form. The problem has been building for over 150 years, since the Burial Act of 1857 banned the exhumation of bodies to allow grave re-use.

How is the business of a cemetery different from other businesses?

But the business of operating a cemetery is different from other ventures in one key way: the cemetery’s product (burial plots) is ultimately limited. And cemetery owners have to keep maintaining the plots they’ve sold, even after there are no more plots to sell.