Human Composting is Better for the Environment

Would you want to be composted after you die?

Up In Smoke

As if living with a carbon footprint wasn't a nuisance enough, it turns out the way you leave your life can have an impact on the Earth as well.

One new funeral option: Human composting, which is exactly what it sounds like, is becoming more available, and according to a recent interview in the BBC, it may be better for the environment as well.

Carbon Foot-print

In May 2019, Washington became the first state to legalize human composting thanks in large part to Katrina Spade, CEO and founder of Recompose, a company that offers "natural organic reduction" as a burial alternative.

Over the course of four years, Spade and her associates conducted research into the process of safely composting a human corpse. Spade told the BBC that using the process for one funeral prevents 1.4 tonnes of carbon from being released into the atmosphere, compared to cremation.

"Going" Green

For now, the process is only legal in Washington state, but Spade hopes more states will allow their citizens to choose to be composted.

"For a lot of folks it resonates with the way they try to lead their lives," Spade said to the BBC, "They want to pick a death care plan that resonates with the way they live."

READ MORE: Human compost funerals 'better for environment' [BBC]

More on burial alternatives: 7 Futuristic Things To Do With Your Body When You Die