Michigan Water-Cremation: Eco-Friendly or Flushing Loved Ones?

It's not exactly the most cheery of topics but what do want to do with your remains once you've left Earth? The traditional casket and burial plot may be the first choice for some, but they aren't making any more land and if you haven't noticed, it's at a premium right now.

Related: Can You Legally Be 'Buried at Sea' In a Michigan Great Lake?

A relatively new option that seems to be hung up in legislative limbo is called alkaline hydrolysis, also referred to as resomation or aquamation, which is a process that was developed in the 90s. According to Central Michigan Cremation, the process is described as:

a water-based dissolution process for human remains that uses alkaline chemicals, heat, and sometimes agitation and-or pressure, to accelerate natural decomposition

This process is currently being used for animals in Michigan, but I was unable to find an aquamation provider for humans in Michigan. In a March 2022 article on Eirene's website (a company providing cremation services throughout Canada), there are no rules prohibiting the practice on the books nor is there anything that bans it.

Get our free mobile app

After reaching out to a few Michigan funeral home owners, it became evident why it isn't common practice in the Mitten State. The issue boils down to disposal, not of the brittle white bones, but the green liquid solution that is left over. According to Wikipedia, that green stuff could end up in the same place flushed goldfish go:

The liquid is disposed of either through the sanitary sewer system, or through some other method, including use in a garden or green space

Billed as the 'Green Creamtion' here's a look at the inner workings of an Aquamation operation.