Human composting and water cremation considered to tackle burial space shortages

Human composting and water cremation could be introduced in England and Wales, a report has suggested.

Burial, cremation and burial at sea are the only methods currently formally recognised in law in the two nations, the Law Commission said.

Water cremation – or alkaline hydrolysis – was introduced in Scotland in March, becoming the first UK nation to bring in this method as an alternative to cremation and burial.

A Law Commission report has recommended the UK and Welsh governments should be able to approve and regulate new funeral and burial methods in the two countries as they emerge, through secondary legislation.

Water cremation, also known as resomation, involves a body being wrapped in a silk or woollen shroud, or other biodegradable material, before being placed in a chamber with hot water and chemicals, speeding up decomposition.

Remains can then be returned to next of kin, as with ashes following cremation.

Human composting – also known as terramation – involves the deceased being placed in a specially designed container with a mixture of wood chips, straw and other organic materials. Over several weeks it becomes broken down into soil.

Kristoffer Hughes recently returned from the US where terramation is legal in several states. He said he believed the practice could offer a "deeply ecological and spiritually meaningful" alternative to cremation or burial.

Hughes, a broadcaster, author and leader of the Anglesey Druid Order, spent three decades working for coroners across the UK and abroad as a specialised mortuary technician.

He visited Return Home, south of Seattle in Washington state, the world's first large-scale human composting facility, for an S4C documentary series Marw gyda Kris (Dying with Kris), to learn how the composting process works in detail so he could establish a facility in Wales.

"Cremation produces significant carbon emissions and traditional burial takes up land and resources," said Hughes.

"Human composting gives us another option - one that's deeply ecological and spiritually meaningful.

"At the end of the process, you become soil that can grow forests, feed gardens, and nurture new life. It's the most beautiful continuation I can imagine."

The commission's report has recommended the need for a clear legal framework for new methods for dealing with dead bodies, but said the question of which methods should be used is one to be dealt with by governments.

The report suggested the two governments should "be able to respond as new methods emerge, without needing to pass primary legislation each time a new method is to be regulated".

It said ministers should consider, when looking at new methods, protecting the environment as well as public health and public safety, alongside ensuring human remains are treated with dignity.

Its report also stated that none of the recommendations would require anyone to use a particular method, therefore ensuring a person's religious and cultural practices are protected.

It added there must be "an effective system of oversight" to ensure compliance with regulations are monitored including inspection of facilities.

Commissioner for Public Law Professor Alison Young said: "Everyone deserves the right to have their wishes respected after death, and those who love them deserve confidence that the law will protect that.

"Our recommendations create a clear, future-proof legal framework that gives government the tools to approve new options safely, with proper oversight and without affecting existing choices."

Earlier this year the commission set out recommendations aimed at addressing a shortage of burial space while ensuring robust safeguards for grieving families.

That report suggested modernising laws – some of which have not changed for more than 170 years – to allow graves which are more than a century old to be reused in cemeteries across England and Wales, although it said war graves should be protected.

The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) welcomed the latest report, noting a "significant cultural shift" with more families keen on "meaningful, dignified farewells that align with their personal values – particularly around environmental sustainability".

Its chief executive Terry Tennens said: "Whether it is alkaline hydrolysis or human composting, people deserve to have these options available to them.

"By establishing a common-sense path towards regulation, this report has given funeral profession innovators the commercial confidence they need to start planning investments in the future of the sector.

"It also means that families who choose a new funerary method will be able to do so safely in the knowledge that it meets a regulatory standard."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The government will carefully consider the Law Commission's recommendations, before responding in due course."