“Join the natural cycle: knowing that the last action you make will be gentle and beneficial seems like the right thing to do. »
– Katrina Spade, founder of Recompose
I love gardening and watching things grow, so I found the idea of human composting an intriguing concept. For those who find cremation unconventional, even unsettling, the process of disposing of the remains of a deceased loved one has taken on a new and fascinating turn. There is now a green alternative to traditional burial or cremation. Whether you call it human composting, terramation, soil transformation or natural organic reduction, the essence remains the same: it is about allowing your loved one to return to earth gently and beneficially, by transforming them into a soil rich in nutrients, that is to say in a compost adapted to the soil. fertilization.
Going green has reached a “final” frontier, and the process is quickly becoming the last natural method in the world of end-of-life planning and burial. Here is a description from Earth Funeral, one of the companies specializing in this method:
“Soil transformation is a natural and environmentally friendly alternative to burial and cremation, sometimes called human composting. Over the course of a 45-day process, a body is gently transformed into a cubic meter of nutrient-rich soil. Families choose how much land they want to return – to scatter or plant – and the rest is sent to our Olympic Peninsula conservation site for land restoration projects. Soil becomes a way to return nutrients from our bodies to the natural world.
Soil transformation “is a gentle and natural process. This takes place in our proprietary vat system, which creates ideal conditions for water and natural microbes to break down the body on a molecular level. The result is nutrient-rich soil. Soil transformation seems like a wonderful and gentle process, doesn't it? Well, apart from the small detail, you have to be, uh, more among us to take advantage of this “natural and environmentally friendly alternative”. But hey, at least you'll be doing your part for the environment.
Here's a nifty booklet from Earth Funeral on floor transformation that explains all the details: Land: an introduction to soil transformation.
Earth Funeral's quote for my future composting is $5,450.00, which includes the “Earth Package”:
- A healthcare team to guide you throughout the process
- Collection and pick-up from the place of passage
- Transportation to the nearest land facility
- Submission of all necessary documents and permits
- A transformation of the earth's soil
- The land has returned to your family
- 5 impact trees planted by One Tree Planted
- Access to the Earth Family portal
- Worldwide travel protection
Sarah, an Earth Funeral employee, filled in many of the blank spaces. Earth Funeral only has one facility, located in Washington, but it covers some neighboring states. He transports the deceased to his site like a body destined for cremation: in a plane packed in dry ice. Earth Funeral is building a facility in Nevada and expanding into California. It and its competitors are regulated by the state and licensed as funeral homes.
Recompose, “is a licensed green funeral home in Seattle supporting clients across the United States. Our experienced funeral directors provide personalized support throughout the death care journey.” They were the first in the world to offer this alternative, and their website FAQ answered other burning questions: “The bones are ground into a fine powder by equipment after the soil has been removed from the Recompose container. The staff also checks for non-organic materials, like implants (hips and knees, I think), which are recycled whenever possible. The reduced bone is added back to the compost to help balance the nutrients in the compost and make minerals available to plants. Recompose follows all compost testing regulations put in place by the Washington State Department of Licensing and the Board of Health.
Human composting has gained significant legal recognition, with Arizona being the latest state to allow its official use.
In April 2024, Governor Hobbs signed the “Grandpa in the Garden” bill, marking a giant step toward human composting in Arizona. The move follows pioneering efforts by Washington state, which first recognized the process in 2019. Since then, California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, Nevada and New York have joins the list. Several other states are currently considering similar bills.
One of the opponents is the Catholic Church.
“The New York State Catholic Conference, a group that represents the state's bishops, has long opposed the bill, calling the burial method 'inappropriate.' Human bodies are not household waste and we do not believe the process meets the standards for respectful treatment of our earthly remains. They also have problems with cremation, but according to the National Funeral Directors Association, or NFDA, more than half of all Americans who die this year will be cremated, and many will have Catholic funerals. As for the allegations of irreverent treatment by the bishop, terramation begins with a sacred ritual similar to those in use for more than two thousand years.
Watch Caitlin Doughty's YouTube video recorded at the Recompose facility to get an idea of what this process looks like: Let's visit the human composting facility
Human composting is a little more expensive than cremation but costs much less than burial, and I think this environmentally friendly “green” option will appeal to many. Having grandpa's composted leftovers under their fingernails and actually growing daisies, what will they think next? Oh, but wait, Desmond Tutu chose something called water cremation, aka aquamation, but that's a story for another day.
Althea Halchuck is a patient advocate.