A burial method known as ‘human composting’ created by a firm called Recompose, has been declared environmentally-friendly following a pilot study. The method saved more than one ton of carbon in comparison to cremation and traditional burials.
Recompose, located in Washington, will offer the first human composting service in the world. Speaking to BBC News, founder Katrina Spade stated that the service has garnered a lot of attention, as people are concerned with their carbon footprint and its contribution to global warming.
‘The project has moved forward so quickly because of the urgency of climate change and the awareness we have to put it right,’ said Spade said.
Recompose calls its method ‘natural organic reduction.’ It involves laying the body in a closed compartment, with straw grass, wood chips and alfalfa. Slowly the body is rotated, allowing microbes to break it down. The study found that within 30 days all soft tissue is completely broken down.
The remains are then available for the families to scatter.
The results of the study were presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Seattle. The process has taken four years of scientific research to finally perfect.
The process of human composting is currently only legal in Washington state.
Soil scientist Prof Lynne Carpenter Boggs conducted the research on six volunteers who had consented to the research before their deaths.
Image: Unsplash
