Washington becomes 1st US state to legalize human composting

Washington on Tuesday became the first US state to legalize human composting after its eco-friendly governor signed a bill to that effect in a bid to cut carbon emissions from burials and cremations, AFP reports.

Under the new law, which takes effect next May, people will have the option to have their bodies transformed into soil suitable for use in gardening in a process called re-composition.

This offers “an alternative to embalming and burial or cremation that is natural, safe, sustainable, and will result in significant savings in carbon emissions and land usage,” said Katrina Spade, who lobbied for the law. Spade is the founder of Recompose, a Seattle-based company set to be the first to offer the service.

The Catholic Church believes that “disposing human remains in such a manner fails to show enough respect for the body of the deceased,” according to Joseph Sprague, executive director of the Washington State Catholic Conference.