Polski
Water Instead of Fire: Europe and the World Are Testing New Forms of Burial
While in Poland the discussion around alternatives to traditional burial and cremation is still largely confined to university lecture halls and industry conferences, the Netherlands is preparing to write water cremation directly into law, and around the world, composting human remains is ceasing to be a curiosity from foreign media and becoming a real, legal funeral option. We take a look at exactly what's changing just across our western border, and why the funeral, stonemasonry, and cemetery industries should already have this trend on their radar.
01 · Law & Regulations
The Netherlands Legalizes Water Cremation
The Dutch Ministry of the Interior has submitted a new draft funeral law to the Council of State, intended to fully replace the current regulations on burial and cremation [1]. The key change is the formal approval of alkaline hydrolysis, also known as resomation or water cremation - a method in which the body is broken down in a heated water-alkali solution instead of flame. The main argument in favor of this method is environmental: it uses 80-90% less energy than traditional cremation [1], which matters a great deal for crematorium operators at a time of rising energy costs and growing pressure to decarbonize public services.
Interestingly, the Dutch Health Council did not go all the way in this same law - it simultaneously rejected human composting and cryomation (freezing the body in liquid nitrogen), citing a lack of sufficient scientific data on the safety of these methods [1]. Experts cited in the article expect formal legalization of resomation to occur around the turn of 2026 and 2027 [1]. This is a signal that Western Europe is treating the topic of alternative burial forms seriously and legislatively, not merely as material for industry conferences or experimental pilots.
02 · Green Burial
Body Composting Is No Longer a Niche
If water cremation still seems like a novelty in Poland, human composting - technically known as natural organic reduction - is already a practice of real scale worldwide [2]. According to a review published by Colombia One, as of August 2026 the method has already been legalized in fourteen US states, and the German state of Schleswig-Holstein has made it permanent after concluding a multi-year trial period, which is itself a significant precedent for the rest of Europe [2].
Not all countries are following the same path, however - Colombia chose the route of alkaline hydrolysis, legalizing it through Decree 717 of 2026 [2], which shows that the green burial market is developing along two tracks, depending on local legal, climatic, and cultural conditions. The author also lists England, Wales, Australia, and - once again - the Netherlands among the countries considering similar regulations [2], confirming that we are no longer talking about isolated, one-off experiments. In this context, one sentence from the article stands out in particular: in Poland, the topic for now remains purely a matter of academic discussion [2]. In other words - the rest of the world is already legislatively testing and implementing these solutions, while here we are only just beginning to discuss them among specialists.
Summary
Summary
Placed side by side, these two stories point to a clear direction of change: alternative, less energy-intensive forms of burial are ceasing to be a conference curiosity and are entering the legal frameworks of successive countries - from US states, through German federal states, to Colombia and soon the Netherlands. For Poland's funeral and stonemasonry industries, as well as for cemetery administrators, this is a clear signal to start tracking these regulations now and to understand how they may in the future affect infrastructure, services, and customer expectations - rather than being caught off guard when the topic lands on the national legislative table.
Want to talk about how these global trends might affect the Polish funeral services market? Join us at the Funeral Expo 2026 – Targi Akcesoriów, Produktów i Usług Pogrzebowych, where we'll discuss topics such as new burial technologies, cremation, cemetery management, and funeral floristry together with experts from across the industry.
Invitation
Water cremation in the Netherlands and the worldwide expansion of human composting show that the funeral industry is entering an era of new, more eco-friendly technologies. Visit Funeral Expo 2026 – Targi Akcesoriów, Produktów i Usług Pogrzebowych to talk with suppliers and experts about how to prepare for these changes in Poland. Let's meet and exchange industry experience!
Funeral Expo 2026Footnotes
[1] NL Times — https://nltimes.nl/2026/09/25/water-cremation-set-become-legal-funeral-option-netherlands[2] Colombia One — https://colombiaone.com/2026/09/25/body-soil-human-composting-new-funeral-options/