I just read a long article about Human Composting. The idea has been around awhile, and now it's becoming legal in more places. So what is it? How is it done? And why do it? Rather than opting for a traditional burial or a cremation, you can now choose to have your earthly remains turned into compost. It's done by placing the body in a sort of compost bin with natural composting material like sawdust, wood chips and alfalfa. The body is then allowed to decompose for 30 to 45 days at which point it has composted into fertile soil. The soil can then be put in bags and given to the deceased family to do as they please. Many people are opting for this final solution because it doesn't require embalming or releasing harmful gases or pollution into the ground and possibly water table. While not cheap like cremation, it provides a sense of continuity since the body gets recycled into something beneficial for the planet. So what do you think about this method for your last ecological act on the earth? more info here: The quest to alter our ‘last toxic act’: Inside the rise of human composting
Something like this is fine for me. Those I leave behind shouldn't have to jump through hoops and spend thousands of dollars discarding my empty shell. The fact that death is an industry concerns me. Just throw me down and let me return to nature
I heard/read about this a couple years ago, there's a company called Recompose ~ Human Composting | Ecological Death Care | Recompose... Much more recently heard this piece on NPR (also transcript if you prefer to read)... https://www.npr.org/sections/health...posting-lets-you-replenish-the-earth-after-de I definitely want to do this, but as far as I know, it isn't yet legal in Michigan. I don't have anyone else, no sibs, no offspring... I'd really like to have arrangements set well in advance. What do I do, write/petition the governor or something??
If either of our daughters spread my remains in their garden, I would sort of be around to see the look on their face when they gave birth to the next nutty professor. I can picture one of them blaming her husband for planting tomatoes on my patch. On a more serious note, I can see the attraction of keeping loved ones nearer to home, but leaving them behind when moving house could be somewhat stressful. I have yet to find a simple answer to anything in life.
The most talked about opposition to this is that people feel it lacks dignity for the deceased. I suppose that might be true for some religious sects. However I am not religious so I don't give credence to any of that. My concern, having worked in the funeral industry, and handled deceased remains, and seen what has to be done to safely intern human remains, I am not confident that Composting would safely get rid of any parasites or pathogens that may linger in the body. Not to mention if the Deceadent had been consuming excessive amounts of medications over their lifetime, the composting may not decontaminate the body and rid any remnants of drugs in the the tissues. While most parasites and fungal infections can be destroyed at between 125 to 145 Degrees Fahrenheit, there is no guarantee that all of them will be killed. The same with residue of drugs absorbed by the body. While the bill has passed in California there are still experts that do not feel 100% confident that Composting a Human Body is safe. Aside from cremation, the ideal thing would be to have th ebody prepped as if it were going to be embalmed. Organs and soft tissue removed, leaving muscle bone and skin. But I'm not a professional so this is all just my opinion based on work I have done in the past and my interpretation of how the bodies were handled.
Time is important to ensure proper composting. It wouldn't make sense to use the compost to grow food immediately. It would likely be better to add to a flower bed, or left in nature for awhile to fully decompose. Yes humans are bags of polluting viruses, bacteria, chemicals and heavy metals, not fit for vegetable garden, of course those things are already in most of us.
My wife died almost three years ago and we had a green burial in a conservation forest cemetery. The graves are only marked with a small field stone. I will be buried there as well and, while not composting, my remains will be nourishing trees in the forest.
