The report presented a draft legal framework for these new ways of managing the body after death, which could help pave the way for their practical implementation. The draft legal framework also attempts to make provision for funerary methods that are as yet un-explored.
What is human composting?
Human composting turns people into soil. The process breaks down the body much more quickly than in a burial by controlling the temperature and oxygen in a dedicated vessel.
What is alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation)?
Rather than using flames, water cremation uses water — and a small amount of an alkali like potassium hydroxide — heated to around 150℃. A combination of the heat, pressure and chemical break down body tissue, which dissolves harmlessly into the water.
These methods are not illegal, but they’re not explicitly legal, which means there aren’t yet the safeguards to ensure it happens safely and ethically in England and Wales.
Both human composting and water cremation are already legal in many US states. In 2021, we visited Seattle-based Recompose, the organisation who first developed human composting, to learn more about their approach. Scotland made water cremation legal in March 2026, and the first water cremation is expected to take place in Scotland this summer.
More eco-friendly choices
Both human composting and water cremation are potentially more environmentally-friendly choices than traditional burial or cremation, though more research is needed to understand the impacts. The human composting process uses 87% less energy than cremation. The BBC reports that alkaline hydrolysis could produce seven times’ less CO2 than a typical cremation by fire.
These new methods could offer more choice to people when it comes to what happens to their body when they die.
“As a B Corp we take seriously our impact on the planet, and we've always been proud to offer our clients high quality environmentally friendly funeral choices,” says Poppy’s Chief Executive Clare Montagu. “As burial space becomes increasingly sparse in England, and more people seek greener funeral alternatives, we would be delighted to offer these newer funerary methods to clients once the legal framework and practical means are in place. They may sound a little outlandish to some at first, but alkaline hydrolysis returns ashes back which are very similar to those from cremation by fire; and human composting is really only an accelerated form of burial, and an extremely planet-friendly form at that. The traditional funerary methods will remain right for many people, but for others this could open up new choices for them.”
This work is one of three strands of work the Law Commission has been working on relating to modernising the legal framework around funerals and the management of the dead. Poppy’s has contributed comment and expertise across these three workstreams, and were acknowledged for our campaigning work to challenge dehumanising language in the funeral sector.
The government has a year to make a concrete response. At the moment, there’s no guarantee that the government will take this forward, but we hope they do.