The United States Postal Service is looking for a way to get 452 packages of unidentified cremated remains to their final destination, according to a report by the USPS Office of Inspector General.
Though USPS is the only legal method for sending cremated remains through the mail, the OIG found that strict shipping rules are not being followed between 28% and 50% of the time.
Regulations state these sensitive parcels must be shipped via Priority Mail Express and labeled with an alarming orange “cremated remains” sticker. This label is supposed to indicate the goods should be handled by their specific protocols.
Overlooking these rules could be a major reason hundreds of cremated remains are currently resting at USPS’s lost package warehouse, officially known as the Mail Recovery Center. Illegible addresses are often another big reason behind the wayward packages.
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Some of the unidentified and/or undeliverable ashes have remained in limbo for years. Among the 452 remains is one that has been with USPS since Feb. 24, 2015.
Packages sent to the MRC are typically held for 60 days and then sent to the auction site GovDeals if valued at over $25 ― but this does not apply to cremated remains.
Though hope these parcels get home may seem unlikely, the OIG’s report says, “The MRC continues to work to find a resolution for delivering these undeliverable and/or damaged Cremated Remains packages.”
Those wary of postal debacles don’t have many options besides USPS. An individual may personally transport remains via automobile or airplane but would be required to provide the legal death certificate, a cremation permit and a letter from the funeral home.
If flying, TSA regulations require remains to be screened like any other carry-on item would be, meaning the urn or container must be thin enough to be scanned. Only some airlines allow remains to be checked in.
Cremation has outgrown the stigma that once surrounded it. While only 4% of Americans were cremated in 1960, that number jumped to 1 in 3 by 2005. According to a report by the Cremation Association of North America, 59% of deceased Americans were cremated last year.