UK Burial Space at a Premium: Resomation the Answer?

In an earlier post, we mentioned that the government of the United Kingdom was considering double-stacking corpses in graves to alleviate the looming burial-space crisis in that country. We’ve also talked about one Australian company that hopes to market a process that uses chemicals at high temperatures to reduce human bodies to a dry bone residue. Now we learn that the UK government is considering the possibility of using that process, known as resomation, to cope with the increasing demand for and withering supply of burial space in that country.

Resomation rapidly decomposes bodies in a solution of water and potassium hydroxide heated to 150°C (302°F). Although the process was developed in the United States, it is not yet legal in most states; nor is it legal in the UK.

Enter Resomation Ltd, a Glasgow company that has entered into discussions with more than a dozen local authorities that are desperate to find new ways of handling their dead and interested in learning more about resomation. Because no local authority can approve resomation until the process is legalized by the national Government, however, Resomation Ltd is also lobbying members of the House of Commons.

A report in The Independent, citing an acknowledgment by justice minister Bridget Prentice, suggests those efforts might be getting somewhere. “We are… aware of the growing interest in resomation as an alternative method of disposal. In view of this interest we are giving consideration to the representations that have already been made to us and are exploring how best to engage more widely on this issue,” says Prentice.

New Solutions, Not-so-New Problem
Seven years ago, a report from the House of Commons environment committee expressed alarm about the “sheer magnitude of the problems facing our cemeteries” and called the Government’s handling of the crisis “inexcusable.” Today, experts say that half the graveyards in Greater London are already full, and the remaining capacity is being used up at the rate of 10,000 interments per year. Even with two bodies buried in each grave, the remaining space will run out quickly.

Proponents claim that legalizing resomation will not only help to alleviate the space problem, but also provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.