Good news: Human composting has been approved in the state of Washington. Legislation signed by the governor on May 21, 2019, will take effect in May 2020.
I call this good news because I’ve long supported the concept; see my earlier Blog entry (April 14, 2015) for background on why I’m so interested.
I now recommend, as an overview, this recent brief article by J. Brian Charles posted on www.governing.com:
“Under Washington’s human composting law, bodies will be broken down naturally. Recompose’s process involves placing a dead body in an eight-foot-by-four-foot vessel, along with straw and wood chips. As the heat in the vessel rises, microbes decompose the body over the course of 30 days, ultimately resulting in about one cubic foot of compost soil. Families will be allowed to take the soil home or donate it to conservation groups in the area.”
I hope that this option will eventually be approved and implemented in other states, including Massachusetts. Meanwhile, we’ll watch how this evolves in Washington and learn from their experience. ~ Sandy
