Human composting and water cremation considered in new report

Aine Fox, Press Association Social Affairs Correspondent

Human composting and water cremation could be introduced in Wales and England, a new 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 Westminster 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, where over several weeks it becomes broken down into soil.

The commission noted that water cremation is already available in parts of Australia and Canada, while both methods take place in parts of the United States.

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 to addressing a shortage of burial space whilst 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, but war graves to be protected.