Around 170,000 people die in the Netherlands each year. The government now wants to modernise the rules governing what may happen to the body after death. On 25 September, a proposal for a new law, Wet bestemming lichamen overledenen, was submitted to the Council of State (Raad van State), the country's advisory body on legislation. The new law is intended to replace the existing Wet op de lijkbezorging.
One of the most significant changes is that alkaline hydrolysis would be permitted as an alternative to burial and cremation.
The method is often referred to as resomation or water cremation and, unlike conventional cremation, does not involve burning the body. Instead, the body's organic material is broken down in a sealed vessel using water, an alkaline solution and heat. Among the remaining material are the mineral components of the bones, which can be processed into a powder and returned to the family.
Eftertid has previously explored in more detail how resomation works and the discussion surrounding the method. Resomation – could water become an alternative to fire?
Years of work behind the proposal
The inclusion of alkaline hydrolysis in the bill follows a process that has been underway for several years.
As early as 2020, the Health Council of the Netherlands, Gezondheidsraad, concluded that alkaline hydrolysis could be permitted. Its assessment was based on a framework centred on three core values: safety, dignity and sustainability.
The issue was revisited in 2025 when the council examined both alkaline hydrolysis and human composting. It found no reason to change its previous assessment of alkaline hydrolysis, while concluding that the evidence supporting human composting remained insufficient.
The government is now moving forward with alkaline hydrolysis as part of the proposed new law.
Two deceased people in the same coffin
The bill also contains changes that extend well beyond water cremation.
The government wants to allow two deceased people to be placed in the same coffin for burial or cremation. According to the proposal, this would also be possible with resomation.
An urn containing the ashes of someone who died earlier could also be placed in the same coffin for burial. This could, for example, allow two people who died at different times to ultimately be laid to rest together.
The proposal reflects one of the stated aims of the new law: to provide greater scope for the deceased person's wishes regarding their final arrangements.
Easier burial within 24 hours
The rules surrounding very rapid burials are also set to change. According to the government, the procedure for burying someone within 24 hours of death would be simplified.
The bill also includes changes concerning death investigations. Police and forensic physicians would have greater powers to examine both the body and the place where a deceased person was found when there is reason to suspect that the death was not due to natural causes.
Other European countries are also changing the rules
The Netherlands is not alone in reconsidering how new methods should be regulated.
In Scotland, a specific regulatory framework for hydrolysis came into force on 2 March 2026, establishing hydrolysis in legislation alongside burial and cremation.
In England and Wales, the Law Commission published its final report and draft legislation on 4 June 2026. It recommends a regulatory framework through which new funerary methods, including alkaline hydrolysis, could be approved in the future.
Together, these developments show that alkaline hydrolysis is increasingly becoming a question for European lawmakers rather than simply an alternative technology available elsewhere in the world.
From alternative technology to legislation
The Dutch proposal is significant because it addresses a question that extends beyond the technology itself: whether funeral legislation written around burial and cremation can accommodate fundamentally different ways of caring for the dead.
The Netherlands is proposing to answer that question by explicitly adding alkaline hydrolysis to its legal framework.
The bill has not yet been adopted. The Council of State will now review the proposal and issue its opinion, after which the government can proceed with the legislation to parliament.
Water cremation is therefore not yet legal in the Netherlands. But after several years of investigation, the issue has taken a clear step from discussion towards concrete legislation.