A greener way to die: How human composting is growing as an alternative to burial or cremation

Source: The post is based on the article “A greener way to die: How human composting is growing as an alternative to burial or cremation” published in Indian Express on 11th April 2023

What is the News?

New York has become the sixth state in the US to legalize human composting as a burial option.

What is Human composting?

Human composting is also known as natural organic reduction. It is essentially the process of transforming the human body into nutrient-rich soil.

The rationale behind Human Composting: With the global temperature soaring, methods like burials and cremations are increasingly being seen as contributors to carbon emissions.

– A CNN report said cremating one body emits an estimated 190 kg of carbon dioxide into the air, which is the equivalent of driving 756 km in a car.

Process of Human Compositing: A body is put in a closed vessel along with selected materials such as wood chips, alfalfa and straw grass, and gradually breaks down under the action of microbes. – After a period of around a month – and a heating process to kill off any contagion – loved ones are given the resulting soil. This can be used in planting flowers, vegetables or trees.

Opposition to Human Composting: The Catholic Church has been the biggest opponent of the process, calling it an “unfortunate spiritual, emotional, and psychological distancing from the deceased.” It argued that human bodies should not be treated like “household waste”.