human composting

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A 14th State Gives the OK to Composting Dead Bodies

New Jersey becomes the latest to legalize it

(Newser) - New Jersey has become the 14th state to allow the composting of human bodies as an alternative to burial or cremation, the AP reports. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legislation on Sept. 11. It authorizes a practice called natural organic reduction, which involves putting a body into a large...

Eco-Friendly Burial Option: Water Cremation

Maryland's first funeral home like this offers alkaline hydrolysis, though it's not the only one nationwide

(Newser) - In a quiet Baltimore funeral home, a new era in eco-friendly farewells is unfolding as Maryland embraces "water cremation"—a process that dissolves bodies in chemical baths rather than flames. The Washington Post reports that Maryland has joined a growing list of states offering the process, also...

Human Composting Now an Option in a 6th State

Burial method, becoming popular with the eco-conscious, is legal in New York

(Newser) - Howard Fischer, a 63-year old investor living north of New York City, has a wish for when he dies. He wants his remains to be placed in a vessel, broken down by tiny microbes and composted into rich, fertile soil. Fischer now should be able to have his wish come...

A New Option After Death: Human Composting
A New Option After Death:
Human Composting
longform
Nov 6, 2022 2:45 PM CST

A New Option After Death: Human Composting

It's more technically known as natural organic reduction, or NOR

(Newser) - "It would be such a wonderful thing for me—to be able to just walk through [my garden] and be like, 'Oh, hi, Mom,'" Rachel Gerberding told her dying mother. She wasn't talking about somehow burying her there. She was thinking of composting her mom—...

Colo. Has Its First Set of Legally Composted Human Remains

Body was turned into soil over 6 months in 'natural reduction'

(Newser) - Less than a year after "natural reduction," or human body composting, was legalized in Colorado, the state has laid to rest its first legally composted human remains. The law allows people to choose to have their bodies turned into soil after they die, which is said to be...

Human Composting Could Become Legal in California

The process turns human bodies into soil after death

(Newser) - For Sarah Chavez, it’s important her death reflect the beliefs and values that guided her in life. That’s why, instead of having her body buried or cremated, Chavez said she would opt to have her remains turned into soil. Death is a natural process, and to Chavez, director...

Seattle Will Have Nation's First Human Composting Site
Seattle Will Have Nation's First
Human Composting Site
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 12, 2020 6:42 AM CST

Seattle Will Have Nation's First Human Composting Site

They've found a forest home for all the soil

(Newser) - A warehouse in Seattle is being converted into a facility to turn the dearly departed into mulch. Washington state's first-in-the-nation bill legalizing human composting takes effect in May and Katrina Spade, CEO of Recompose, believes the facility will be the first of many. She has created a process that...

This State Just Legalized Composting of Humans

Washington is first to legalize alternative to burial, cremation

(Newser) - Ashes to ashes, guts to dirt. Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation Tuesday making Washington the first state to approve composting as an alternative to burying or cremating human remains. It allows licensed facilities to offer "natural organic reduction," which turns a body, mixed with substances such as wood...

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