Ashes to Ashes?

The plight of Austin's homeless population is an issue that the city's lately been wrestling with quite a bit, and with considerable opposition. A more interesting question, and one that we entirely failed to consider, is this: what happens after they die?

The city currently provides "traditional burials" for those whose families can't be found and/or simply can't afford the costly fees, in the last year administering 85 services according to today's Statesman. But now Travis County officials are considering cremating the remains of the future dead, as this option is cheaper and East Austin's Travis County International Cemetery is filling up to near capacity:

"We have shied away from" cremation, County Judge Sam Biscoe said, "but we have learned other counties have done it without being challenged."

Biscoe said cremation could be less costly than burying those whose families cannot be found or who don't have money to afford a burial. The change, he said, would also save space in the county cemetery and put off the need to buy more land.

Biscoe said that cremation can be a touchy subject and that there are questions to consider, from religious implications to how families would react.

Still uncertain is where these cremated remains would be stored.

* image is of an urn from a museum in rome