Other Options Besides Burial and Cremation

What counts as another disposition option?

“Disposition” is the funeral-industry word for what happens to a body: burial, cremation, or another method. The options below are real choices in Utah, each with its own rules and providers.

Aquamation (alkaline hydrolysis)

Alkaline hydrolysis uses water, heat, and an alkaline solution instead of flame. As with cremation, the family receives remains they can keep, bury, place in a niche, or scatter.

Utah law allows it. A funeral home can perform alkaline hydrolysis only after it receives an authorization form signed by the person with the right to decide, and a burial transit permit that lists alkaline hydrolysis as the method. At least two Salt Lake County funeral homes list aquamation on the price lists Wayfinder collected.

Green burial and natural burial

Green burial, also called natural burial, skips the things that slow a body’s return to the soil. That usually means no chemical embalming, a biodegradable casket or shroud, and no concrete vault.

In Utah, Memorial Mortuaries says it offers green burial sections within its cemeteries: formaldehyde-free preparation, caskets of bamboo, willow, or other natural materials, and graves without a concrete vault. As of 2024 reporting, Utah had no dedicated “conservation cemetery,” the most natural category of green burial ground. A proposal for one in Oakley was under discussion then. Ask any cemetery whether it has a green section and what its rules are.

Whole-body donation

The University of Utah School of Medicine runs a Body Donor Program. Its published facts:

• Adults 18 and older, or married people, can register by completing a Certificate of Bequeathal.
• The school picks up the body at no cost within 100 miles of Salt Lake City. Families pay transport beyond that.
• The body is used for education and research for one month to two years, then cremated at no cost.
• The remains are returned to the family or placed in a common site at the Salt Lake City Cemetery, as the donor chose.
• The program notes that, in practice, next of kin can prevent a donation if they oppose it, so talk with your family.

Contact: Body Donor Program, 801-581-6728, [email protected].

Human composting in Utah

Natural organic reduction, often called human composting, turns a body into soil over several weeks. It is legal in some states but not in Utah. Utah Senate Bill 49 in 2026 would have allowed it, and it failed on March 6, 2026. Similar bills were introduced in earlier years. Laws change, so check again if this matters to your family.

What changes by state

Each state decides which methods are legal, who may perform them, and which permits are needed. If a death happens in another state, or remains will travel, the rules of each state involved may apply. The funeral home handling the arrangement can tell you what applies.

Questions to ask

1. Is this method legal in Utah, and do you offer it?
2. Who performs it, and where does it take place?
3. What happens to the remains afterward?
4. What permits, forms, or signatures are needed?
5. For green burial: which cemetery sections allow it, and what are the rules on caskets, shrouds, and markers?