Water cremation and human composting among methods to be discussed by General Synod this week
The Church of England is to consider backing more environmentally-friendly methods of disposing of dead bodies, including water cremation and human composting.
Just over a year ago, Desmond Tutu, the archbishop of Cape Town and anti-apartheid activist, requestedThe process, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, resomation or water cremation, involves immersing a body for three to four hours in a mixture of water and a strong alkali, such as potassium hydroxide, in a pressurised metal cylinder and heated to about 150C.
The Rev Canon Andrew Dotchin, who raised the issue at the Synod, said Tutu’s choice of aquamation was “a challenge [to] other Christians to be more careful with what they do with their remains”. Howard Pickard, its managing director, said: “The public want more environmentally friendly methods of disposing of a body, and this certainly meets that need.” Resomation was a “simple process” that enabled the body “to go through the natural process of breaking down to its constituent parts,”Water cremation is permitted in at least 20 US states. Human composting is legal in Washington DC, Oregon, Colorado and Vermont.per body.
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