“Dust you are, to dust you will return,” says the Bible. California has another suggestion. Last month, Gavin Newsom, the Governor of the Golden State, signed legislation allowing post-mortem human composting by 2027. California is the fifth US state to endorse this alternative to cremation or burial, after Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Vermont.
Law AB 351 speaks of “natural organic reduction”. The deceased is placed in a metal container about 2.5 meters long and a little over a meter wide. It is filled with organic products, such as wood chips, straw or even alfalfa. Once the container is closed, nature does its job. The system only promotes microbial activity to accelerate the decomposition of the body, which becomes arable land after 60 days.
Just allow your body to do what it was made to do #peoplecompost also known as #terracing vid: Compliments from https://t.co/IpWCm4w8Ux
Your thoughts?… ☻ pic.twitter.com/ew77LrDuhb
— Six Feet Above the Grave (@six_feet_above) March 17, 2022
Families can grow a tree or plants on the approximately 100 kilos of soil collected, thus honoring the memory of the deceased. Human compost is more natural and costs less than a traditional burial, between $4,000 and $5,000 compared to $6,000 for a cremation and more than $7,000 for a funeral.
According to Micah Truman, founder of Return Home, a funeral home near Seattle, human compost is also less harmful to the environment because, for example, embalming chemicals avoid ending up in the soil. “A cremation requires 115 liters of fuel, in addition to releasing into the air whatever our bodies might return to the earth in the form of greenhouse gases,” explains Micah Truman, who estimates that “like any of us do will die, the way we care for our dead is very problematic.”
“A lot of people aren’t particularly excited about being cremated, and others aren’t too keen on being buried.”
Micah Truman, founder of Return Home
at franceinfo
“That’s why our methodology is interesting for those who want to return to the country, for example farmers,” explains Micah Truman. Many people have many reasons.”
@returnhomenor How do we return human compost? Watch to find out. #terramation #greenfuneral #humancomposting #cremation #funeralhome #sustainable #trees ♬ Startup (60 seconds) – TimTaj
The former financier, who felt useless in his job despite making good money, had the environment in mind when he started a year and a half ago. But he’s since discovered that what he calls “terration” helps families by actually giving them time to say goodbye to the deceased. Some placed flowers, a piece of cake or wine on the body of the deceased, he said. But since Micah Truman is no stranger to finance and marketing — Return Home’s TikTok account has half a million followers — he’s waiting with some impatience for the market to open in California, the nation’s most populous state.