Transforming your body into humus for the good of the planet. In the United States, New York becomes the sixth state to allow human composting after death, after it was authorized by state governor Kathy Hochul on Sunday, January 1.
An alternative to cremation and burial, this burial method is considered much more environmentally friendly. To do this, the remains must be delivered to a cemetery company specialized in organic reduction. They must not contain any batteries, electric cells or radioactive implants.
The deceased is then placed in a reusable semi-open container containing suitable bedding (wood shavings, alfalfa or straw), ideal for the microbes to do their work.
“At the end of the process (six to eight weeks), a stacked cubic meter of nutrient-rich soil is produced, or about 36 bags of soil, which can then be used as fertilizer,” explains the English media.
According to TV5 Monde, the result is “the equivalent of two wheelbarrows”. “Anything we can do to get people away from concrete linings, fancy caskets and embalming, we should do and support,” said Michelle Menter, director of Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve, a purpose-built nonprofit cemetery in downtown New York.
Sensitive issue of funeral practices
Before authorizing this process, the governor of the state of New York, Kathy Hochul, found herself in a dilemma, recalls the guardian. A proud Irish-American, she has never hidden the influence of her Irish roots on her political outlook.
“Composting is a process generally used for domestic or agricultural waste, and does not offer due respect to bodily remains,” the Catholic Conference of this State was outraged in a press release last November.
Washington was the first state to legalize human composting in 2019, followed by Colorado and Oregon in 2021, then Vermont and California later in 2022.
In France, the question of human compost was already raised in 2016. In a written question, Senator LR of the Rhône Elisabeth Lamure stated that “a certain number of French people, including the inhabitants of the Rhône department, want to be able to benefit from humus”.
The ministry’s response: “Its introduction into domestic law would raise important questions, related in particular to the lack of legal personality of the particles resulting from this technique and its compatibility with article 16-1-1 of the civil code.”
However, it had paved the way for “a deep reflection that could continue within the framework of the National Funeral Operations Council (CNOF)”.
Source: BFM TV
