Alkaline Hydrolysis (water cremation) regulation: consultation analysis report

2. The Consultation

The “Regulation of Alkaline Hydrolysis in Scotland (Water Cremation)” consultation ran from 25 August to 17 November 2023 and received sixty-four (64) responses. The consultation was split into sections (shown below), with specific questions being asked about some of the sections (those in bold type here):

• Introduction
• What is alkaline hydrolysis?
• Previous consultation on new methods of disposal including alkaline hydrolysis
• What we are consulting on now
• Regulation and oversight of alkaline hydrolysis
• Sustainability considerations
• Health and safety of alkaline hydrolysis
• Availability of alkaline hydrolysis in other countries

The consultation consisted of sixteen (16) consultation questions. Eleven (11) of the questions had both closed question sections requiring a fixed response selected from options and a free text comment section for further explanation of preceding fixed response choices. Five (5) of the consultation questions were open questions inviting broader comments on the proposals. There were a further eight (8) questions on the impact assessment following the main consultation questions. These responses will help inform the development of the impact assessments and have not been included in the analysis for this report.