A quiet revolution in funeral care, championed by a Scot and utilized from Florida to Johannesburg, is finally docking in its home port. The Scottish Government announced today that it is introducing regulations for alkaline hydrolysis—widely known as “water cremation” or “Resomation”—marking the first time in over 120 years that a new alternative to burial or flame cremation will be formally regulated in Scotland.
While the government’s announcement frames this as a modern “sustainable alternative,” the real story for many is that this technology was championed, engineered, and exported to the world by one of our own: Sandy Sullivan. A Glasgow-born biochemist, Sullivan founded Resomation Ltd. in 2007 with a vision to transform a Victorian industrial patent into a dignified human service.
Today’s regulations, laid before Parliament by Public Health Minister Jenni Minto, effectively clear the path for Sullivan’s vision to become a legal reality in Scotland, nearly two decades after he began his campaign.
The journey has been a long, international loop. Due to historic regulatory hurdles in the UK—specifically the antiquated 1902 Cremation Act—Sullivan was forced to take his invention abroad first. His “Resomator” machines found their first public home in Florida in 2011 and are now legal in over 28 US states. The process gained global attention when anti-apartheid hero Archbishop Desmond Tutu chose it for his own funeral in 2021, and Ireland beat Scotland to the European debut by opening a facility in County Meath in 2023.
Despite the “boil in the bag” nickname sometimes used by tabloids, the process is clinical, gentle, and highly efficient. The body is placed in a biodegradable shroud within a pressurized stainless-steel chamber, where a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide is heated to approximately 150°C. Over three to four hours, the solution accelerates natural decomposition, dissolving the body into its chemical building blocks and leaving only pure white bone ash—yielding about 32% more remains than flame cremation to be returned to the family.
Crucially, the environmental argument that Sullivan has made for years is now driving policy. The process generates zero airborne mercury emissions and boasts a carbon footprint roughly 90% lower than flame cremation. Minister Minto confirmed that the move follows extensive consultation showing “significant public support” for such eco-friendly options.
For Sullivan and the Scottish innovators behind the tech, this is the victory lap; if the regulations pass as expected, Scots could finally have the legal right to choose this home-grown, sustainable farewell by 2026.