“The funeral as we know it is becoming a relic”
This headline caught my attention. Karen Heller of the Washington Post has written a good article about shifting trends and new ideas in U.S. funeral practices. You can read the full article on the Washington Post’s website (posted online April 15), or see it today (April 21, 2019) re-published in the Sunday Republican (Springfield, MA) newspaper.
One of the new ideas mentioned there is under active consideration in the state of Washington. Their Senate voted Friday April 19 in favor of a bill allowing “recomposition” or “human composting” (see CNN’s report April 19 ) — an environmentally-friendly idea that Katrina Spade has been discussing and promoting for years. (I recommend viewing the first 9 minutes of her 2016 TEDx talk “When I die, re-compose me.” then skipping to the more up-to-date website Recompose.life)
As Earth Day 2019 approaches, the topic of reforming our death-care practices seems particularly relevant. The increased interest in “greener” options is encouraging.
