But now people are being urged to consider human composting and other environmentally friendly “deathcare” options. But we can still look for new alternatives.”Washington recently became the first US state to legalize human composting and UK funeral directors are reporting a surge in requests for green burials and other more sustainable alternatives to burial and cremation. Carpenter-Boggs, who also acts as scientific adviser to Recompose, a Seattle-based company that plans to open the world’s first human composting facility next year, presented data from a pilot project in which six bodies were composted to test the safety and effectiveness of the approach. The process, known as natural organic reduction, turns a corpse into two wheelbarrows’ worth of soil in four to six weeks. Burial can also be problematic: embalming fluids can leech into groundwater and coffins use up natural resources such as wood and metal.

Source: Taipei Times February 17, 2020 15:56 UTC