{{Short description|Ritual process of converting a deceased body into compost}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}} '''Human composting''' (called '''natural organic reduction''' in legal codes and regulations<ref>{{Cite web |title=RCW 68.04.310: "Natural organic reduction." |url=https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=68.04.310 |access-date=2026-01-04 |website=app.leg.wa.gov}}</ref><ref name="lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov" />) is a process for the final disposition of human remains in which microbes and organic material convert a deceased body into compost. Developed in the early 21st century as an environmentally sustainable alternative to burial and cremation, human composting is legally sanctioned in several U.S states and Sweden. Human composting has prompted much debate around environmental impacts, legalization, and religious considerations.<ref name="BBCHow2">{{cite web |last1=Prasad |first1=Ritu |date=January 30, 2019 |title=How do you compost a human body – and why would you? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47031816 |website=BBC News |access-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002333/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47031816 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBCWashFirst2">{{cite web |date=May 21, 2019 |title=Washington becomes first US state to legalise human composting |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48359571 |website=BBC News |access-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-date=May 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521221646/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48359571 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2011-04-13 |title=Swedish green-burial firm to turn frozen corpses in compost |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20110413/33178 |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=The Local Sweden |language=en}}</ref>
== Development and implementation ==
=== Impetus and development === {{See also|Disposal of human corpses#Commonly practiced legal methods|Cremation#Modern process|Burial#Burial methods|Death care industry in the United States}} In the 21st century, several factors led to the development of human composting as one of several proposals for alternative deathcare.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paul |first=Kari |date=2023-02-19 |title=From cradle to compost: the disruptors who want to make death greener |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/19/human-composting-industry-deathcare |access-date=2025-05-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
As described in the 1963 exposé ''The American Way of Death'', the for-profit death care industry in the United States evolved after the Civil War to promote ostentatious and resource-intense funerary customs mainly for burial, including embalming with chemicals, expensive coffins, and highly decorated gravesites.<ref name="LQ">{{cite magazine |last=Lovejoy |first=Bess |date=Fall 2013 |title=Fond Farewells: Jessica Mitford's ''An American Way of Death'' took down an industry few people knew about, but that everyone would one day need |url=http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/death/fond-farewells |access-date=2016-09-27 |magazine=Lapham's Quarterly |volume=VI |number=4}}</ref> In the decades following the exposé, cremation grew in popularity as a simpler alternative, outnumbering burials nationwide by 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scutti |first=Susan |date=2017-08-09 |title=Half of Americans choose cremation |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/health/cremation-tops-burials-in-us-study |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912230206/https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/health/cremation-tops-burials-in-us-study |url-status=live }}</ref>
However, cremation itself has a number of environmental impacts, including the use of fossil fuels in retorts and the emissions released by combustion (which may include toxic mercury from dental amalgam).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tibau |first1=Anita Vazquez |last2=Grube |first2=Blanche D. |date=June 2019 |title=Mercury Contamination from Dental Amalgam |journal=Journal of Health and Pollution |volume=9 |issue=22 |article-number=190612 |doi=10.5696/2156-9614-9.22.190612 |pmc=6555253 |pmid=31259088 }}</ref>
Seeking ways to curtail the impact of deathcare, Katrina Spade (founder of the company Recompose) is credited with pursuing research on ways to accelerate decomposition using methods previously used with livestock.<ref name="BBCHow2" /> The process was the subject of scientific study at Washington State University in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Study Provides Details on Human Composting Process Set to Begin in Washington State {{!}} American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/study-provides-details-human-composting-process-set-begin-washington-state |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=www.aaas.org |language=en |archive-date=January 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126183735/https://www.aaas.org/news/study-provides-details-human-composting-process-set-begin-washington-state |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Terminology === There are various terms for specific methods of composting human remains. These include:
* '''Natural organic reduction''' (NOR) or simply '''organic reduction''', is the term adopted by the State of Washington after it became the first jurisdiction to legalize and regulate a form of human composting. Natural organic reduction is legally defined as "the contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to soil".<ref name="lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov">{{Cite web |title=WSR 24-15-129 PERMANENT RULES STATE BOARD OF HEALTH |url=https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/wsr/2024/15/24-15-129.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250421125800/https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/wsr/2024/15/24-15-129.htm |archive-date=April 21, 2025 |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov}}</ref> This term and definition was subsequently adopted by other states in their own codes and regulations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter 692 — Funeral Service Practitioners; Embalmers; Death Care Consultants; Funeral Establishments; Cemetery Operators; Crematory Operators and Alternative Disposition Facilities |url=https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors692.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250418115907/https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors692.html |archive-date=April 18, 2025 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.oregonlegislature.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vermont Laws - Title 18 : Health, Chapter 121: Cemeteries |url=https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/18/121/05302 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=legislature.vermont.gov}}</ref>
Private companies that perform natural organic reduction have trademarks and patents for specific methods of natural organic reduction. News reports have genericized these terms.
* '''Recomposition''' is the term of art used in the U.S. patent application by Katrina Spade and Recompose, PBC.<ref name=":3">{{Cite patent|number=US20200207675A1|title=System and method for recomposition of the dead|gdate=2020-07-02|invent1=Bernstein|invent2=SPADE|inventor1-first=Oren|inventor2-first=Katrina|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20200207675A1}}</ref> * '''Soil transformation''' is a trademark registered by the Earth Funeral Group, Inc.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is soil transformation? |url=https://earthfuneral.com/what-is-soil-transformation/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Earth |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="SOIL TRANSFORMATION" Registration Certificate, Case Id 97352340 |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn97352340&docId=ORC20230806162202&linkId=1#docIndex=0&page=1 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=USPTO Document Viewer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Piore |first=Adam |date=2023-09-07 |title=When my friend died, she wanted to be turned into mulch |url=https://www.newsweek.com/when-my-friend-died-she-wanted-turned-mulch-1822625 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref> * '''Terramation''' is a trademark registered by Return Home Inc. (formerly Adamah, Inc.)<ref>{{Cite web |title="TERRAMATION" Registration Certificate, Case Id 90099799 |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn90099799&docId=ORC20210606042512&linkId=2#docIndex=1&page=1 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=USPTO Document Viewer}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Helmore |first1=Edward |date=January 1, 2023 |title=New York governor legalizes human composting after death |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/01/new-york-governor-legalizes-human-composting-after-death |website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-11 |title=Return Home, Inc. Annual Report |url=https://archive.fast-edgar.com/20250411/AULZB22CZ222KT42222I2ZZ2GQMDZU228C72/form_car.pdf |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=fast-edgar.com}}</ref>
=== Methods === {{See also|Compost#Fundamentals}} Composting is an aerobic method of decomposing organic solid matter to recycle it.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |last= |first= |date=17 April 2013 |title=Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - US EPA |url=https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208003610/https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home |archive-date=8 February 2017 |access-date=12 July 2021 |website=US EPA}}</ref> The process involves decomposing organic material into a humus-like material, known as compost, which can add nutrients to soil.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Masters |first=Gilbert M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3BhSAAAAMAAJ&q=Human+waste+can+also+be+added+as+an+input+to+the+composting+process+since+human+waste+is+a+nitrogen-rich+organic+material |title=Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Science |date=1997 |publisher=Prentice Hall |isbn=978-0-13-155384-2 |language=en |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126005451/https://books.google.com/books?id=3BhSAAAAMAAJ&q=Human+waste+can+also+be+added+as+an+input+to+the+composting+process+since+human+waste+is+a+nitrogen-rich+organic+material |archive-date=26 January 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Composting organisms require four equally important ingredients to work effectively: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and water.<ref name=":52">{{Cite web |title=The Science of Composting |url=http://web.extension.illinois.edu/homecompost/science.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217221013/http://web.extension.illinois.edu/homecompost/science.cfm |archive-date=17 February 2016 |website=Composting for the Homeowner |publisher=University of Illinois}}</ref>
As described in their patent application and news reports, Recompose's method entails placement of human corpses in a container along with a composting feedstock of plant material. In reports, this is described as a mixture of woodchips, straw and alfalfa.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-16 |title=Soil Instead Of Ashes: Human Composting Is About To Become Legal In Washington State |url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/05/16/human-composting-washington |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.wbur.org |language=en |archive-date=January 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107044330/https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/05/16/human-composting-washington |url-status=live }}</ref> Recompose estimates they use {{Convert|729|cuft|m3}} of plant material.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=How much soil is created by human composting? |url=https://recompose.life/faqs/how-much-soil-is-created-by-human-composting/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Recompose |language=en-US |archive-date=January 29, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250129200137/https://recompose.life/faqs/how-much-soil-is-created-by-human-composting/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The mixture is aerated (and optionally rotated) to encourage the temperature of the mixture to rise until thermophile microbes decompose the body and the feedstock.<ref name="BBCHow2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Human Composting Soil Research |url=https://recompose.life/human-composting/soil-research-pilot-study/ |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Recompose |language=en-US}}</ref> In addition to developing the composting process itself, Spade worked with engineer Oren Bernstein to design containers and frames to compost several bodies within a single complex.<ref name=":3" />
Other companies use similar processes, with some differing details. In a ''Popular Science'' article, Return Home describes custom-built machinery to turn the container and continue decomposition.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Byrne |first=Jennifer |date=2025-10-10 |title=How human composting turns bodies into soil |url=https://www.popsci.com/science/how-human-composting-works/ |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=Popular Science |language=en-US}}</ref> The company Earth Funeral uses a feedstock that includes mulch and wildflowers. Herland Forest utilizes composting vessels in an outdoor setting rather than in a climate-controlled indoor environment.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Dust to Dust: Why We Should Legalize Human Composting |url=https://publications.lawschool.cornell.edu/jlpp/2022/11/03/dust-to-dust-why-we-should-legalize-human-composting/ |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy |language=en-US}}</ref>
In this manner, the reduction of remains to soil may take place in as little as 1–2 months.<ref name="BBCHow2"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Human Composting: A 'Green' Funeral Option |url=https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/basics/green-funeral-human-composting/ |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=AARP |language=english}}</ref> Recompose estimates that per person, their process yields soil in the amount of {{Convert|27|cuft|m3}} by volume and {{Convert|1000|lb|kg}} by weight.<ref name=":2" />
Based on a customer's preferences, a portion of compost from natural organic reduction can be returned to loved ones in containers and scattered, similar to cremated ash.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDYcdrjVn2k |title=Human composting: The rising interest in natural burial |date=2023-06-18 |last=CBS Sunday Morning |access-date=2025-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241222215023/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDYcdrjVn2k |archive-date=December 22, 2024 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}}</ref> Recompose and Return Home each donate soil to conservation forests.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-05-02 |title='More and more people don't want a traditional burial' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56926819 |access-date=2025-10-14 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
=== Precautions and contraindications === Disposition of human bodies through composting has a number of health, safety and legal requirements and restrictions.
==== Pathogen control ==== The United States Environmental Protection Agency standardized "Processes to Further Reduce Pathogens" (PFRP) under {{Code of Federal Regulations|40|503|B|1|prefix=App}}. This requires within-vessel composting to achieve a temperature of {{Convert|55|C|F}} sustained for over 3 days.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Appendix B to Part 503, Title 40 -- Pathogen Treatment Processes |url=https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/appendix-Appendix%20B%20to%20Part%20503 |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=www.ecfr.gov |language=en}}</ref> This temperature is also required to reduce the presence of pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, and chemotherapy drugs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pérez-Lucas |first1=Gabriel |last2=Navarro |first2=Simón |date=2024-10-01 |title=How Pharmaceutical Residues Occur, Behave, and Affect the Soil Environment |journal=Journal of Xenobiotics |language=en |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=1343–1377 |doi=10.3390/jox14040076 |doi-access=free |issn=2039-4713 |pmc=11503385 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What happens to drugs and medicine during human composting? |url=https://recompose.life/faqs/what-happens-to-drugs-and-medicine-during-human-composting/ |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Recompose |language=en-US}}</ref>
Persons with certain diseases (such as tuberculosis, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, and ebola) are ineligible for human composting due to pathogens that may survive the temperatures of the composting process.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Human composting {{!}} Description, Process, Legality, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/human-composting |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114144342/https://www.britannica.com/science/human-composting |archive-date=November 14, 2024 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-22 |title=Recompose, the first human-composting funeral home in the U.S., is now open for business |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/recompose-the-first-human-compositing-funeral-home-in-the-u-s-is-now-open-for-business/ |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
==== Remains requiring special handling ==== Although bones decay, they do so more slowly than soft tissue.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-04-07 |title=How do animal bones decompose? |url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/how-do-animal-bones-decompose |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=BBC Science Focus Magazine |language=en}}</ref> In human composting, bones are removed in the middle of the process to be pulverized using mechanical equipment and integrated back into the soil. This equipment and approach is identical to procedures used in Western crematories to reduce bones to dust for inclusion with funerary ashes.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cremation Process |url=https://www.cremationassociation.org/cremationprocess.html |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=Cremation Association of North America (CANA) |language=en}}</ref>
Medical implants with batteries (such as pacemakers) or radioactive materials (such as brachytherapy seeds) pose risks that require removal before a body is composted. Metals (such as those from hip replacement) must also be removed from composted remains before use as compost.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-21 |title=Becoming Human Compost: Natural Organic Reduction |url=https://talkdeath.com/becoming-human-compost-the-process-of-natural-organic-reduction/ |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=TalkDeath |language=en-US |archive-date=March 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250317150055/https://talkdeath.com/becoming-human-compost-the-process-of-natural-organic-reduction/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Cummins |first=Eleanor |date=2022-10-03 |title=Inside one of the world's first human composting facilities |url=https://www.theverge.com/c/23307867/human-composting-process-return-home |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=The Verge |archive-date=April 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250425142229/https://www.theverge.com/c/23307867/human-composting-process-return-home |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Alternative disposition services: Green burial, alkaline hydrolysis and human composting |url=https://ncceh.ca/resources/evidence-reviews/alternative-disposition-services-green-burial-alkaline-hydrolysis-and |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health |date=April 19, 2023 |language=en |archive-date=July 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715060859/https://ncceh.ca/resources/evidence-reviews/alternative-disposition-services-green-burial-alkaline-hydrolysis-and |url-status=live }}</ref>
==== Restrictions on placement ==== In Washington, regulations require testing composted remains for levels of toxins, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium. Remains exceeding limits may not be released into the environment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WAC 246-500-055 |url=https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-500-055 |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=app.leg.wa.gov}}</ref><ref name="lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov" />
States that legalized the process of natural organic reduction simultaneously restricted the handling and disposition of organically reduced human remains. The state of Colorado prohibits growing food with soil from human remains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Human Remains Natural Reduction Soil {{!}} Colorado General Assembly |url=https://www.leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-006 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.leg.colorado.gov |archive-date=March 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316100805/https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-006 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MRSC - Natural Composting of Human Remains - A First for Washington State |url=https://mrsc.org/stay-informed/mrsc-insight/may-2019/bill-allows-natural-composting-of-human-remains?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=mrsc.org}}</ref> The state of California allows state or local agencies to prohibit scattering in specific areas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AB 351- CHAPTERED |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB351 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=leginfo.legislature.ca.gov |language=en |archive-date=May 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250512124843/https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB351 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Activism for legalization == Proponents say human composting is more economical, environmentally friendly, and respectful of the body and the earth than the methods of disposal that are typically practiced in technologically advanced societies. Cremation uses fossil fuels or large amounts of wood for funeral pyres (both of which generate polluting smoke and release large amounts of carbon), and conventional burial is land-intensive, has a high carbon footprint, and frequently involves disposing of bodily fluids and liquified organs in the sewer and injecting the body with toxic embalming chemicals. By contrast, human composting, like natural burial, is a natural process and contributes ecological value by preserving the body's nutrient material.<ref name=SmithsonianCalifornia>{{Cite web |last=Kuta |first=Sarah |title=California Has Legalized Human Composting |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/california-has-legalized-human-composting-180980809/ |access-date=September 9, 2022 |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921201922/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/california-has-legalized-human-composting-180980809/ |url-status=live }}</ref> While energy is still required for human composting facility operations, it only uses an eighth of energy than that required for cremation.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |title=Human composting {{!}} Description, Process, Legality, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/human-composting |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250625084819/https://www.britannica.com/science/human-composting |archive-date=2025-06-25 |access-date=2025-11-26 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref><ref>Cartier, K. M. S. (2020). ''Human Composting Is a Greener Way to Go''. Eos. https://eos.org/articles/human-composting-is-a-greener-way-to-go</ref>
Human composting tends to be less expensive compared to cremation and traditional burials, typically costing between $3,000 and $7,000 compared to $7,000–12,000 (burial) and $4,000–7,000 (cremation).<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Much Does a Funeral Cost? |url=https://funeraladvantage.com/consumer-resources/average-funeral-cost/ |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Funeral Advantage |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How Much Does Cremation Cost? |url=https://funeraladvantage.com/consumer-resources/cremation-costs/ |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Funeral Advantage |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":8" />
Author and YouTuber Caitlin Doughty, writing in favor of legalization in New York state, argues that the process "fulfills many people's desire to nurture the earth after dying."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Doughty |first=Caitlin |date=2022-12-05 |title=Opinion {{!}} If You Want to Give Something Back to Nature, Give Your Body |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/05/opinion/human-composting-new-york.html |access-date=2025-05-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250504110538/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/05/opinion/human-composting-new-york.html |url-status=live }}</ref> An editorial in ''Undark Magazine'' argues that "natural organic reduction respects the human body and spirit, supports rather than sullies the earth, and works with nature rather than against it".<ref>{{cite web |date=August 18, 2022 |title=Opinion: For a More Sustainable Afterlife, Try Human Composting |url=https://undark.org/2022/08/18/for-a-more-sustainable-afterlife-try-human-composting/ |access-date=February 5, 2023 |website=Undark Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Religious views == As human composting is contemplated and legalized in more jurisdictions, its compatibility with religious beliefs has been debated.
=== Christian === {{See also|Universal resurrection}}
==== Catholic Church ==== {{See also|Cremation in Christianity#Roman Catholic Church|Catholic funeral}} The Catholic Church in the United States has lobbied legislators against the legalization of human composting.<ref name="ReligionNews1">{{Cite web |last=Molina |first=Alejandra |date=July 12, 2021 |title=Amid Catholic opposition, states are legalizing composting of human remains |url=https://religionnews.com/2021/07/12/amid-catholic-opposition-states-are-legalizing-composting-of-human-remains/ |website=Religion News Service |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="ReligionNews2">{{Cite news |last=Molina |first=Alejandra |date=September 20, 2022 |title=California legalizes human composting bill against opposition by Catholic bishops |url=https://religionnews.com/2022/09/20/california-legalizes-human-composting-bill-which-catholic-bishops-oppose/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001043055/https://religionnews.com/2022/09/20/california-legalizes-human-composting-bill-which-catholic-bishops-oppose/ |archive-date=October 1, 2022 |access-date=October 2, 2022 |website=Religion News Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 28, 2020 |title=Composting of Human Bodies: Memorandum of Opposition |url=https://www.nyscatholic.org/composting-of-human-bodies/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203031645/https://www.nyscatholic.org/composting-of-human-bodies/ |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |website=New York State Catholic Conference |language=en-US}}</ref>
The Catholic Church interprets the Nicene Creed to uphold a universal resurrection of earthly remains. The Church began sanctioning cremation in 1963, but the 1983 Code of Canon Law forbids church funerals to cremations held "for anti-christian motives" that deny the resurrection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Library: Piam et Constantem |url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=11422 |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=www.catholicculture.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Catechism of the Catholic Church|pp=999|quote=So, in him, 'all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear,' but Christ 'will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body,' into a 'spiritual body'|long=long=on}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Code of Canon Law - Book IV - Function of the Church (Cann. 1166-1190) |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann1166-1190_en.html#CHAPTER_II. |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith elaborates that respect for remains, whether buried or cremated, requires their placement intact to "cemeteries or other sacred places", and says that scattering of remains gives "appearance of pantheism, naturalism or nihilism".<ref>{{cite web |date=August 15, 2016 |title=Ad resurgendum cum Christo |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20160815_ad-resurgendum-cum-christo_en.html |website=Holy See}}</ref>
The ''National Catholic Register'' published a dissenting opinion from Saint Louis University professor in bioethics Jason T. Eberl that human composting is compatible with Catholic teaching. Specifically, he argued it should be in line with the Pope Francis on environmentalism in ''Laudato si''' and on preferential option for the poor in ''Evangelii gaudium''. Eberl concludes that "a body that has been naturally organically reduced could also be interred in the same fashion or utilized as soil in a designated, blessed area to foster new life that will be memorialized by future generations, fulfilling in a more direct way the Biblical declaration that we are dust and to dust we shall return (Genesis 3:19)."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Catholic case to support NY's human composting bill |url=https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/catholic-case-support-nys-human-composting-bill |website=National Catholic Reporter |access-date=February 5, 2023 |language=en-US |date=December 20, 2022 |archive-date=February 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205015508/https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/catholic-case-support-nys-human-composting-bill |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2024, following the legalization of human composting in several states, the Catholic Cemetery Conference advised its members that "with agreement of its Bishop Catholic cemetery may allow for inscribing the name of the deceased loved one on a family memorial, preceded by 'In Loving Memory of' or as explicitly allowed by the cemetery rules and regulations." The Conference also reiterated that "the Catholic church does not promote or endorse the use of Human Composting."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-26 |title=CATHOLIC CHURCH'S TEACHING ON HUMAN COMPOSTING |url=https://cdn.ymaws.com/catholiccemeteryconference.org/resource/resmgr/resources/teaching_hc.pdf |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=Catholic Cemetery Conference}}</ref>
==== Protestant ==== {{See also|Cremation#Anglicanism and Lutheranism}} In 2023, the Church of England stated that it is considering the theological, practical and pastoral issues of the practice.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sherwood |first=Harriet |date=2023-02-06 |title=Church of England to consider greener alternatives to burial |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/06/church-of-england-to-consider-greener-alternatives-to-burial |access-date=2025-05-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
The Episcopal News Service profiled human composting as part of a review of American Episcopalians' growing interest in novel funerary practices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-21 |title=Episcopalians explore, embrace green burial as a final act to care for creation |url=https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2022/02/21/episcopalians-explore-embrace-green-burial-as-a-final-act-to-care-for-creation/ |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=Episcopal News Service |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Judaism === {{See also|Resurrection of the dead#Rabbinic and Samaritan Judaism|Bereavement in Judaism|Cremation#Judaism}} Orthodox Jewish interpretations of Halakha religious law require burial of the dead and have opposed cremation. As the state of New York contemplated legalization, ''The Forward'' sought rabbinical opinions about the status of human composting.
* Speaking for Agudath Israel of America, Rabbi Avi Shafran voiced opposition to "'utilizing' a body as a growth medium." * Rabbi Joseph Potasnik of the interdenominational New York Board of Rabbis argued that it lacks appropriate reverence for the dead (''{{Interlanguage link|kavod hamet|lt=kavod hamet|he|כבוד המת}}'').<ref name="Forward" /> * Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of the Conservative movement synagogue Ansche Chesed expressed that the use of soil from organically reduced human remains constitutes a forbidden profiting from a body. * Reconstructionist Rabbi Seth Goldstein says human composting "seems more in line with Jewish practice than cremation in terms of the practices and values that surround it" and believed in its environmental benefits gave merit. * When asked for an opinion the Union for Reform Judaism gave no comment.<ref name="Forward">{{cite web |last1=Ain |first1=Stewart |title=Jewish law forbids human composting, but for some Jews it's the way to go |url=https://forward.com/news/527817/jewish-human-composting-rabbis-halacha-burial-cremation/ |website=The Forward |access-date=January 2, 2023 |language=en |date=December 9, 2022 |archive-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102135057/https://forward.com/news/527817/jewish-human-composting-rabbis-halacha-burial-cremation/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='We're all going to turn to dust': Body composting a 'green' alternative to burial and cremation |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-26/body-composting-a-green-alternative-to-burial-cremation/100486964 |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=January 2, 2023 |language=en-AU |date=September 25, 2021}}</ref>
The Jewish Montefiore Cemetery and New Montefiore Cemetery in Long Island, New York, forbid the scattering of organically reduced remains, as they also do with cremated remains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules & Regulations {{!}} New Montefiore Cemetery |url=https://newmontefiorecemetery.org/regulations/ |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=newmontefiorecemetery.org}}</ref>
=== Islam === {{See also|Islamic funeral}} The Pacific Sun asked for the stance of Council of American Islamic Relations concerning California's legalization of human composting. The organization's deputy executive director replied that parts of the process are "prohibited under Islamic law" but that Islamic scholars "also recognize that every deceased person has the right to be buried in accordance with their own wishes or faith traditions".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-05 |title=Human composting now legal in California {{!}} Pacific Sun |url=https://pacificsun.com/human-composting-legal-in-california/ |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=Pacific Sun {{!}} Marin County, California |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Legal status == Composting of human remains has required explicit authorization from jurisdictions with changes to environmental and professional licensing. Washington was the first U.S. state to legalize, regulate, and license the practice as natural organic reduction.<ref name="SmithsonianCalifornia" /><ref name="APNewsNewYork6th">{{cite web |last1=Maysoon |first1=Khan |date=December 31, 2022 |title=New York OKs human composting law; 6th state in US to do so |url=https://apnews.com/article/new-york-business-washington-vermont-funerals-and-memorial-services-c4b392bc9433505808c73367b2a2ea9e |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516141127/https://apnews.com/article/new-york-business-washington-vermont-funerals-and-memorial-services-c4b392bc9433505808c73367b2a2ea9e |archive-date=May 16, 2023 |access-date=January 2, 2023 |website=AP News}}</ref><ref name="BBCWashFirst">{{cite web |date=May 21, 2019 |title=Washington becomes first US state to legalise human composting |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48359571 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521221646/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48359571 |archive-date=May 21, 2019 |access-date=January 2, 2023 |website=BBC News}}</ref>
=== United States === thumb|300px|States which allow human composting In the United States, rapid human composting has become legally allowed or approved to become allowed in the future in fourteen states {{As of|2025|lc=y}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Human Composting: A 'Green' Funeral Option |url=https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/basics/info-2024/green-funeral-human-composting.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250421173847/https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/basics/info-2024/green-funeral-human-composting.html |archive-date=April 21, 2025 |access-date=2025-05-04 |work=AARP |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !State !Approval Date !Effect Date !Notes !Sources |- |Washington |May 2019 |May 1, 2020 | |<ref name="SmithsonianCalifornia" /><ref name="EarthTracker">{{Cite web |date=August 19, 2022 |title=Tracker: Where Is Human Composting Legal In The US? |url=https://earthfuneral.com/resources/tracker-where-human-composting-legal/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104185123/https://earthfuneral.com/resources/tracker-where-human-composting-legal/ |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |access-date=January 2, 2023 |website=Earth |language=en}}</ref><ref name="APNewsNewYork6th" /><ref name="BBCWashFirst" /> |- |Colorado |May 2021 |August 8, 2021 | |<ref name="SmithsonianCalifornia" /><ref name="EarthTracker" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Sallinger |first1=Marc |date=September 23, 2021 |title=Body composting begins in Colorado, after state legalizes this alternative to burial or cremation |url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/body-composting-colorado/73-cbfd9fd4-36ee-42a1-bc5c-80c9d320f1d2 |access-date=September 24, 2022 |website=KUSA |location=Lafayette}}</ref> |- |Oregon |June 2021 |January 1, 2023 | |<ref name="SmithsonianCalifornia" /><ref name="EarthTracker" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Arden |first1=Amanda |date=July 8, 2022 |title=Oregon's human composting law now in effect. Here's what could come next |url=https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/oregons-human-composting-law-now-in-effect/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710130023/https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/oregons-human-composting-law-now-in-effect/ |archive-date=July 10, 2022 |access-date=September 24, 2022 |website=KOIN |location=Portland}}</ref> |- |Vermont |June 2022 |January 1, 2022 | |<ref name="EarthTracker" /><ref>{{cite web |date=June 2, 2022 |title=Scott signs eight bills into law, vetoes environmental bill H606 |url=https://vermontbiz.com/news/2022/june/02/scott-signs-eight-bills-law-vetoes-environmental-bill-h606 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609074603/https://vermontbiz.com/news/2022/june/02/scott-signs-eight-bills-law-vetoes-environmental-bill-h606 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |access-date=September 24, 2022 |magazine=Vermont Business Magazine}}</ref> |- |California |September 18, 2022 |2027 |Residents seeking human composting before effect date often have their remains transported to nearby legal states, such as Washington.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dembosky |first=April |date=2024-01-18 |title=Californians Eager for Human Composting After They Die {{!}} KQED |url=https://www.kqed.org/science/1991112/californians-are-being-shipped-to-washington-after-they-die-to-be-composted |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=www.kqed.org |language=en}}</ref> |<ref name="ReligionNews2" /><ref name="EarthTracker" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Chamings |first1=Andrew |date=September 19, 2022 |title=California just legalized 'human composting'. Not everyone is happy. |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/california-legalizes-human-composting-17374470.php |access-date=September 20, 2022 |website=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> |- |New York |December 31, 2022 |August 7, 2024 |In February 2026, Green-Wood Cemetery announced itself as the first cemetery in the state to offer natural organic reduction as a service.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=Green-Wood Cemetery set to become first cemetery in state to offer human composting program |url=https://brooklyn.news12.com/green-wood-cemetery-set-to-become-first-cemetery-in-state-to-offer-human-composting-program |access-date=2026-02-05 |website=News 12 Brooklyn}}</ref> |<ref name="EarthTracker" /><ref name="APNewsNewYork6th" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=NOTICE OF ADOPTION: Parts 203 and 204 Natural Organic Reduction |url=https://dos.ny.gov/notice-adoption-parts-203-and-204-natural-organic-reduction |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Department of State |language=en}}</ref> |- |Nevada |May 2023 |January 1, 2024 | |<ref>{{cite web |date=June 5, 2023 |title=Nevada Legalizes Human Composting! |url=https://returnhome.com/nevada-legalizes-human-composting/ |access-date=6 June 2023 |website=Return Home}}</ref> |- |Arizona |April 2024 | | |<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Barry |first=Jason |date=2024-04-06 |title=Gov. Hobbs signs 'Grandpa in the Garden' bill, paving way for human composting in Arizona |url=https://www.azfamily.com/2024/04/06/gov-hobbs-signs-grandpa-garden-bill-paving-way-human-composting-arizona/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429092206/https://www.azfamily.com/2024/04/06/gov-hobbs-signs-grandpa-garden-bill-paving-way-human-composting-arizona/ |archive-date=April 29, 2024 |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=www.azfamily.com |language=en}}</ref> |- |Delaware |May 2024 |May 2024 | |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Griffin |first=Krys'tal |title=Delaware is the 10th state to legalize human composting, an alternative funerary practice |url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2024/05/17/delaware-govern-john-carney-signs-bill-human-composting-recompose-natural-organic-reduction/73735430007/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250109163740/https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2024/05/17/delaware-govern-john-carney-signs-bill-human-composting-recompose-natural-organic-reduction/73735430007/ |archive-date=January 9, 2025 |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=The News Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |Maryland |May 2024 |October 2024 |Elkridge hosts the first licensed natural organic reduction facility in the eastern United States, owned by Earth Funeral Home. |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Curtis |first=Sean |date=2024-05-10 |title=Maryland Legalizes Human Composting, Water Cremation |url=https://www.wboc.com/news/maryland-legalizes-human-composting-water-cremation/article_a6a41864-0ee8-11ef-bce9-7b0d61daa2c7.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250109164230/https://www.wboc.com/news/maryland-legalizes-human-composting-water-cremation/article_a6a41864-0ee8-11ef-bce9-7b0d61daa2c7.html |archive-date=January 9, 2025 |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=WBOC TV |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Breana |date=2026-05-20 |title=East Coast's first human composting facility opens in Maryland |url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/human-composting-facility-maryland-first-on-east-coast/71364484 |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=WBAL |language=en}}</ref> |- |Minnesota |May 2024 |July 2025 | |<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-05 |title=HF5247 |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF5247&type=bill&version=4&session=ls93&session_year=2024&session_number=0&format=pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250414202330/https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF5247&type=bill&version=4&session=ls93&session_year=2024&session_number=0&format=pdf |archive-date=April 14, 2025 |access-date=May 4, 2025 |publisher=Office of the Revisor of Statutes of the State of Minnesota}}</ref> |- |Maine |August 2024 |August 2024 | |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walztoni |first=Elizabeth |date=2024-08-25 |title=Maine just legalized composting human remains. What's next? |url=https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/08/25/homestead/homestead-environment/maine-composting-human-remains-joam40zk0w/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250108124541/https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/08/25/homestead/homestead-environment/maine-composting-human-remains-joam40zk0w/ |archive-date=January 8, 2025 |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=Bangor Daily News |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |Georgia |May 2025 |July 2025 | |<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kann |first=Drew |title='Human composting' is a thing. It'll soon be legal in Georgia |url=https://www.ajc.com/business/2025/05/human-composting-is-a-thing-itll-soon-be-legal-in-georgia/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |language=English |issn=1539-7459}}</ref> |- |New Jersey |September 2025 |July 2026 | |<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Official Website of Governor Phil Murphy |url=https://nj.gov/governor/ |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=nj.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-17 |title='Human composting' is divisive. NJ allows it -- and this woman says it changed everything |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-jersey/nj-allows-human-composting-after-death-what-does-it-mean/6392700/ |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=NBC New York |language=en-US}}</ref> |} {{As of|2025|August}}, an additional fifteen states' legislatures have introduced bills to legalize human composting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trethan |first=Phaedra |title=Life after death? A wave of states move to legalize human composting. |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/08/09/states-legalize-human-composting/85454339007/ |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>
==== Professional and business licensing and training ==== Although the above states have legalized the practice of natural organic reduction, {{As of|2025|lc=y}} it is only a few states that have completed rulemaking and professional licensing.
In Washington, the Funeral and Cemetery Board of the Department of Licenses licenses practitioners natural organic reduction as a sub-specialty of "reduction facility operators" alongside practitioners of cremation and alkaline hydrolysis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Get your license: Reduction operators |url=https://dol.wa.gov/professional-licenses/reduction-operators/get-your-license-reduction-operators |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=Washington State Department of Licensing}}</ref> A similar approach is taken to facilities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Get your license: Reduction facilities |url=https://dol.wa.gov/professional-licenses/reduction-facilities/get-your-license-reduction-facilities |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=Washington State Department of Licensing}}</ref>
The Cremation Association of North America provides certificates of training for those seeking licenses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CANA's Natural Organic Reduction Operations Certification |url=https://www.cremationassociation.org/noroc.html |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=Cremation Association of North America (CANA) |language=en}}</ref>
==== Federal government ====
===== Federal Trade Commission ===== The Funeral Rule ({{Code of Federal Regulations|16|453}}) enacted by the Federal Trade Commission is a U.S. federal regulation protecting consumers by requiring funeral providers provide information concerning their goods and services. In 2020, the Commission underwent a formal review of the Rule.
In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission published the results of its review, including a section on "New Forms of Disposition" including natural organic reduction, stating: <blockquote>The Commission is considering modifying the Rule to explicitly include new methods of disposition, such as alkaline hydrolysis and human natural organic reduction. The Rule could then clarify that such providers could offer direct or immediate services with a reduced basic services fee. The Commission is also considering updating the Rule to adapt to new methods of disposition, for example the Rule requirements to offer and provide disclosures about alternative containers for direct services. The Commission wants to ensure the Rule does not stifle innovation and believes the proposed changes help level the playing field for providers of new alternative methods.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-02 |title=Funeral Industry Practices Rule |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/11/02/2022-23832/funeral-industry-practices-rule |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Federal Register |language=en |archive-date=February 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218153335/https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/11/02/2022-23832/funeral-industry-practices-rule |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>In 2023 the FTC sponsored a panel to discuss natural organic reduction and other new forms of disposition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-07 |title=Shopping for Funeral Services: An FTC Workshop |url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Funeral-Rule-Workshop-Transcript-2023.pdf |website=FTC.gov}}</ref>
===== United States National Cemetery System ===== The administrator of the United States National Cemetery System has authorized the placement of "a portion of remains transformed by natural organic reduction" in in-ground burial sections (including green burial sections) and designated scatter gardens at VA national cemeteries that have these options. Those whose remains are scattered or interred in this way may be eligible for memorial markers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Cemetery Administration - Green Burial Section Pilot - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) |url=https://www.cem.va.gov/green-burial/#FAQ-10 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=National Cemetery Administration |language=en}}</ref>
=== Canada === A National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health study funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada notes that while Canada has yet to legalize the process, "Canadians can access the service in US states such as Washington, the first North American jurisdiction to make it legal." The study notes that the Canadian government should "consider whether inspection or restrictions on the end use of compost transported across borders is required, from jurisdictions where the process is currently permitted, to jurisdictions where it is not".<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Keeffe |first=Juliette |date=2023 |title=Alternative disposition services: Green burial, alkaline hydrolysis and human composting |url=https://ncceh.ca/resources/evidence-reviews/alternative-disposition-services-green-burial-alkaline-hydrolysis-and |url-status=live |website=National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health |publication-place=Vancouver, British Columbia |access-date=May 4, 2025 |archive-date=July 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715060859/https://ncceh.ca/resources/evidence-reviews/alternative-disposition-services-green-burial-alkaline-hydrolysis-and }}</ref>
=== European Union === A {{As of|2023|alt=|bare=yes}} Euronews report noted that within the European Union no national-level government has legalized composting of human remains.<ref name=":1" />
==== Germany ==== The German state of Schleswig-Holstein approved a pilot for a human composting process as ''reerdigung'' ("reburial").<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-09-30 |title=Human composting gains ground in Germany as alternative form of burial {{!}} TheMayor.EU |url=https://www.themayor.eu/en/a/view/human-composting-gains-ground-in-germany-as-alternative-form-of-burial-12741 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=TheMayor.eu |language=en |archive-date=March 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320181553/https://www.themayor.eu/en/a/view/human-composting-gains-ground-in-germany-as-alternative-form-of-burial-12741 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-22 |title=Reerdigung: Alternative Bestattung im Kokon |url=https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/ratgeber/reerdigung-bestattung-alternative-100.html |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=ZDFheute |language=de |archive-date=March 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250323182725/https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/ratgeber/reerdigung-bestattung-alternative-100.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The term "reburial" has appeared as a generic term in the German Handbook of Cemetery and Burial Law since 2021.<ref>{{citation|date=2021 |edition=13. |editor=Jürgen Gaedke, Bearbeitung: Torsten F. Barthel |isbn=978-3-452-29697-9 |location=Köln |pages=207 f. |publisher=Carl Heymanns |title=Handbuch des Friedhofs- und Bestattungsrechts}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> The Berlin-based firm Curriculum Vitae offers reburial services under the name {{Lang|de|Meine Erde}} ("My Earth").<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sterbereport 2022: Erde zu Erde - brand eins online |url=https://www.brandeins.de/corporate-services/projekte/ahorn-gruppe-sterbereport/erde-zu-erde |access-date=2026-02-05 |website=www.brandeins.de |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MEINE ERDE: Anbieter für die Reerdigung {{!}} Bestattung im Kreislauf der Natur |url=https://meine-erde.de/ |access-date=2026-02-05 |website=Meine Erde |language=de-DE}}</ref> The company will export their designs to the United States through a partnership with Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.<ref name=":13" />
==== France ==== In 2024, a research project funded by the French National Research Agency and jointly conducted by the organization Humo Sapiens, the University of Bordeaux, and University of Lille began in with an aim toward a working prototype process by 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Charabidze |first1=Damien |last2=Bony |first2=Jordy |date=2025-05-02 |title=Mieux enterrer les défunts: le compostage, une nouvelle voie funéraire ? |url=https://theconversation.com/mieux-enterrer-les-defunts-le-compostage-une-nouvelle-voie-funeraire-253681 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=The Conversation |language=fr |archive-date=May 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250503101001/https://theconversation.com/mieux-enterrer-les-defunts-le-compostage-une-nouvelle-voie-funeraire-253681 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023, Élodie Jacquier-Laforge authored legislation to legalize the process in the National Assembly.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Expérimentation visant à développer l'humusation |url=https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/16/dossiers/humusation_experimentation |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Assemblée nationale |language=fr |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331095141/https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/16/dossiers/humusation_experimentation |url-status=live }}</ref>
==== Belgium ==== Groups active in France and Belgium are campaigning for legalization of the process under the name "humusation". Brussels politician Bernard Clerfayt stated his opposition to local legalization.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-12 |title=What is human composting and where can you do it in Europe? |url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/02/12/from-death-comes-life-the-human-composting-campaigners-lighting-the-way-to-a-greener-after |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=euronews |language=en |archive-date=April 28, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250428163514/https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/02/12/from-death-comes-life-the-human-composting-campaigners-lighting-the-way-to-a-greener-after |url-status=live }}</ref>
==== Netherlands ==== In May 2020, the Health Council of the Netherlands issued an advisory report on the admissibility of new techniques of disposing of the dead. It found that "the available information on human composting is, as yet, insufficient to make possible an assessment". The report reviewed existing guidance in European regulatory frameworks and reports from European institutions about animal composting. It cites a European Food Safety Authority for composting of dead-on-farm pigs, in which the composted remains are sent for incineration and not release into the environment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ministerie van Volksgezondheid |first=Welzijn en Sport |date=2020-05-25 |title=Admissibility of new techniques of disposing of the dead - Advisory report - The Health Council of the Netherlands |url=https://www.healthcouncil.nl/documents/advisory-reports/2020/05/25/admissibility-of-new-techniques-of-disposing-of-the-dead |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=www.healthcouncil.nl |language=en-GB |archive-date=February 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208024828/https://www.healthcouncil.nl/documents/advisory-reports/2020/05/25/admissibility-of-new-techniques-of-disposing-of-the-dead |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2012-02-13 |title=Composting and incineration of dead-on-farm pigs {{!}} EFSA |url=https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/2559 |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=www.efsa.europa.eu |language=en |doi=10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2559 |archive-date=March 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320203944/https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/2559 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> The Council reiterated its advice against permitting the practice in a report to the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.<ref>{{Cite web |author-link= |title=Do not admit human composting yet; do admit alkaline hydrolysis {{!}} The Health Council of the Netherlands |url=https://www.healthcouncil.nl/latest/news/2025/10/02/do-not-admit-human-composting-yet-do-admit-alkaline-hydrolysis |access-date=2025-10-17 |website=Health Council of the Netherlands |language=en}}</ref>
=== Sweden === Human composting is currently legal in Sweden, through a process commonly known as "promession", developed by Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak (found of the company Promessa).<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Heath |first=Victoria |date=2024-08-24 |title=Human composting - a green alternative to traditional burials |url=https://geographical.co.uk/news/human-composting-a-green-alternative-to-traditional-burials |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Geographical |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> In this process, the body is cooled to 0 °F (-18 °C) and then exposed to liquid nitrogen. Once frozen, the body is then vibrated until turned to a fine dust, which is then freeze dried and separated from metals. This remaining material is then placed biodegradable container and buried in shallow soil, where it naturally breaks down over 6 to 12 months.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Green Burial: How to Turn a Human Body Into Compost |url=https://www.treehugger.com/green-burial-how-to-turn-a-human-body-into-compost-4862155 |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Treehugger |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rumble |first=Dr Hannah |date=2011-04-13 |title=Promession: Sweden's innovation in corpse disposal |url=https://drhannahrumble.com/2011/04/promession-swedens-innovation-in-corpse-disposal/ |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Dr Hannah Rumble |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== United Kingdom === Deborah Smith of the UK's National Association of Funeral Directors noted that human composting has not been undertaken in the United Kingdom, though natural burials are currently legal.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Devlin |first=Hannah |date=2020-02-16 |title=Human composting could be the future of deathcare |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/16/human-composting-could-be-the-future-of-deathcare |access-date=2025-05-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Natural Burials – The Good Funeral Guide |url=https://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/natural-burials/#:~:text=By%20far%20the%20most%20environmentally,All%20kinds%20of%20people. |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk}}</ref><ref name=":10" />
As part of its 13th Programme of Law Reform, the Law Commission for England and Wales is considering regulations for human composting among other new funerary methods. The project started at the beginning of 2024 and will run until spring 2026. It will end with a final report and draft Bill.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New funerary methods – Law Commission |url=https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/new-funerary-methods/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Law Commission |language=en-GB |archive-date=March 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320023733/https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/new-funerary-methods/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== In popular culture == In 2025, composting as a deathcare option gained widespread attention when television personality and businesswoman Martha Stewart publicly stated her wish to be composted in a manner similar to the horses on her Bedford, New York farm.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-06 |title=Would Martha Stewart Want to Be Buried or Cremated? She Has a Third Option |url=https://www.today.com/life/martha-stewart-human-composting-rcna247708 |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}</ref> Following the death of Sid Krofft, his official puppet likeness announced on Instagram that his body was being composted by Earth Funeral.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXPmRxXD5HU/ For those who have asked "where is Sid?".]</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Burials Category:Funeral-related industry Category:Legal aspects of death Category:Waste management Category:Biodegradation