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Washington Could Become the First State To Compost the Dead (nbcnews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the first-of-its-kind dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Washington could become the first state to embrace another funerary practice by making it legal to compost the dead. The method is called "recomposing" and claims to be cheaper and more environmentally friendly than traditional burial or cremation. It involves rapidly decomposing a body and converting the remains into soil. That nutrient-rich material can then be used to grow trees, flowers, and other new life. The alternative practice hinges on a bill that state senator Jamie Pedersen plans to introduce next month, according to NBC. It would legalize recomposing in Washington where burial and cremation are currently the only acceptable ways to dispose of human remains. A public-benefit corporation, Recompose, is responsible for the actual composting. "The transformation of human to soil happens inside our reusable, hexagonal recomposition vessels," Recompose states in an FAQ. "When the process has finished, families will be able to take home some of the soil created, while gardens on-site will remind us that all of life is interconnected."

"The process utilizes a 5-foot-by-10-foot pod full of organic 'tinder' such as straw and wood chips," reports Motherboard. "Thermophilic or heat-loving microbes then metabolize the remains, maintaining an internal temperature of 131 degrees Fahrenheit within the vessel. The entire ritual takes one month, and produces a cubic yard of compost, according to Recompose." Non-organic materials such as artificial hips will be screened for and recycled, and people will certain illnesses may be ineligible since some pathogens may be resistant to the composting process.

4 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. Easier way to handle this... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...we've already got landfills. Just toss the body into a landfill, and done!

    That said, I'm not actually opposed to the idea. But I expect the lawsuits wrapped around the first case where the family can't agree on method of disposal will make this a very unpopular option....

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    1. Re:Easier way to handle this... by jwhyche · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I fail to see a problem with this. My daughter keeps saying when I go she is going put my remains in a large garbage bag and leave me by the curb.

      Joking aside, I've never understood the desire to pump dead people full of chemicals so the don't decay, then dump them in a hole in a air tight box. What is the point. An all that space taken up by graveyards. I've made it clear that I'm to be cremated and my ashes used to line the cat box. Might as well get one more use out of my dead ass.

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    2. Re:Easier way to handle this... by JackieBrown · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's a way of respecting the dead. Not that the dead care, since they are dead, but it is one of the few things we as the living can do to feel like we are helping them.

      I still want to upgrade the headstone on my wife's grave to something that stands out to honor her. That said, she doesn't care and the money would be better spent doing a donation in her name or something similar to that.

  2. Re:Clueless by serviscope_minor · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Another wooooosh.

    Say something stupid. Get a massive smackdown delivered. Claim it's a "whoosh".

    Sure thing buddy. We do all believe you.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.