New funerary methods

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New funerary methods are being developed and are in use elsewhere, but there is currently no regulatory framework for their use in England and Wales.

Consultation open until 4 September 2025

If you have an interest in or awareness of this area of law, we want to hear your views.

Find out how to respond

Read the full consultation paper and consultation paper summary. There is also a Welsh version of the summary, and an easy read version of the summary.

Respond using the online response form.

If you need any of the documents in an alternative format, email us at: bcnfm@lawcommission.gov.uk.

Main project: Burial, cremation, and new funerary methods

Problem (Back to top)

Burial and cremation (and, to a lesser extent, burial at sea) are currently the only funerary methods used in England and Wales. Companies are also developing new funerary methods. These include:

alkaline hydrolysis, which uses water and alkaline chemicals, and heat, to break down a body into a liquid and bone fragments
human composting, which involves keeping a body in a controlled environment so that remains are broken down into soil much more quickly than in a burial.

Both of these methods are in use in some states in the US, and alkaline hydrolysis is available in other jurisdictions, including Ireland and parts of Canada and Australia. At the time of our 13th Programme of Law Reform, human composting was still in development. New methods which are now at the concept stage may become a reality in future years.

In England and Wales, new funerary methods are not currently regulated, other than by laws which apply more generally such as environmental and planning law. Stakeholders have told us that they want a regulatory framework so that they can operate securely and conscientiously, unlock investment, and offer greater consumer choice.

Project (Back to top)

Background

This project forms part of a wide-ranging review into Burial, Cremation and New Funerary Methods.

Due to scope, we have split this initial programme of work into three different sub-projects, of which this is one. You can find information about the other two sub-projects (Burial and cremation, and Rights and obligations relating to funerary methods, funerals and remains) in the related projects section on this page.

About

The project on new funerary methods will consider a framework, set out in primary legislation, to enable the regulation of new funerary methods . It will look at whether principles such as protection of the environment, protection of public health and public safety, and preservation of human dignity should form part of the framework. It will also consider how the regulatory framework might interact with death registration.

The project started at the beginning of 2024 and will run until spring 2026. It will end with a final report and draft Bill.

Consultation

On 4 June 2025 we published a consultation paper containing our provisional proposals, and open questions on issues relating to law reform.

The consultation paper contains provisional proposals for reform on a number of issues, including:

a power for the Government to make regulations about individual new funerary methods
registration of the use of a new funerary method
criminal offences (relating to the use of regulated and unregulated new funerary methods)

Our provision proposals are about a framework, in primary legislation, that will enable new funerary methods to be regulated in future. We are not considering whether specific new funerary methods should be regulated; that will be a question for Government.

Next steps

We seek views from anyone with an interest in the regulation of new funerary methods, including the public, experts in this area, potential operators and others involved in the death care sector.

The consultation is open until 4 September 2025.

The response to our consultation will help to inform and develop our final recommendations for reform, which ultimately will be published in a report, along with a draft Bill. We expect to publish the report and draft Bill in spring 2026.