According to Flamma, this trend is partly due to a change in mentality. One of the organisation's requirements during a general meeting on Saturday afternoon was that all local municipalities become part of the municipal union SICEC (the intermunicipal syndicate which constructed, maintains, and runs a crematorium).
Two third of municipalities in Luxembourg are members of SICEC, which manages the crematorium in Hamm. 31 municipalities are not members, which results in residents of those communes having to pay more to have their family members cremated.
The non-member municipalities include Sandweiler, Troisvierges, Wincrange, and Larochette.
Flamma has also called for a second crematory to be built. Since the population in Luxembourg is consistently rising, the crematorium in Hamm will likely soon be overwhelmed by the demand of people wanting to be cremated, in light of the rising trend. Around 2,600 people are cremated in Hamm each year.
The Lëtzebuerger Wort published an article last year at the end of October investigating the long wait for people to be cremated. Family members had to wait up to seven days.
The delay in question was due to the construction of a new furnace. Despite this issue being resolved for now, Flamma has also demanded new staff for their crematorium in Hamm. Currently, 13,500 members are part of Flamma. Membership is especially beneficial for family members as they are immediately informed of what will happen to their beloved ones.
Flamma was founded in 1906 in response to an increasing desire to choose cremation rather than burial. At this point in time, cremation was not condoned by the Church in Luxembourg, so people had to be cremated abroad.
