Alkaline hydrolysis and its affordances

Robinson, Georgina M.

Abstract

First introduced as a funerary option in the early twenty-first century but initially limited to North America, the reach of alkaline hydrolysis (AH) is now growing year on year, with the number of US states, Canadian provinces and other countries around the world introducing legislation to permit its use regularly increasing. While AH has largely been framed as an environmental alternative to cremation, the reasons for its appeal stretch far beyond this ‘selling point’. Arguably more pertinent reasons for its appeal are grounded in the new ritual-symbolic opportunities that AH affords. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in the United States of America in 2022, this paper discusses some of the reasons why AH has been chosen and explores how the innovative possibilities it offers may bolster its appeal as its availability becomes more widespread. Amongst other reasons explored in this paper, my research found that the choice of AH has been driven by four key motivations, grounded in the perception of AH as an environmental, gentle, water-based and natural choice.

Citation

Robinson, G. M. (online). Alkaline hydrolysis and its affordances. Mortality, https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2024.2445852

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 13, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jan 6, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 19, 2025
• Journal: Mortality
• Print ISSN: 1357-6275
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9885
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2024.2445852
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3490409