Even in death, you can't escape the post office

The USPS is failing grieving families.

Source: Chaumot.

With all the sensational headlines percolating through postal world, the USPS’ new “Cremated Remains Packaging Requirements” rule largely escaped notice. Here is a summary:

The Postal Service will require mailers shipping human or animal cremated remains in any state ( e.g., ashes, keepsakes and jewelry) to be shipped in the Cremated Remains packaging supplied by the Postal Service. Previously, mailers were permitted to use any box if it was marked with Label 139— Cremated Remains.

This doesn’t seem like a big deal, until one examines the process for obtaining this “Cremated Remains packaging.” In a 2023 report, the Inspector General, “found it took an average of three weeks for a customer to receive a Cremated Remains kit box after placing their order online, and of those ordered, only 95 percent were scanned as delivered.”

Unsurprisingly, this “extended period” has led to consumers taking matters into their own hands and DIYing their packaging. Sadly, that’s no longer on the table. Families grieving their loved ones are now at the mercy of an unresponsive agency that may not even deliver the required packaging at all (let alone on time).

Adding to the absurdity: the USPS is the only carrier authorized to ship remains. Hopefully this changes, or, at the very least, the USPS affords the bereaved a little more flexibility in shipping remains.