Green Reasons For Considering Human Composting

Human composting is a new-old method of body disposition after death. Also referred to as “soil transformation” or “terramation,” the composting of human remains is an environmentally friendly alternative to other methods of body disposition, including conventional and green burial, and cremation.

Human composting avoids the use of embalming fluids, substances that over time can pollute ground water. It avoids burning fossil fuel and the release of carbon dioxide and particulates into the air, as happens in cremation. For scattering, cremated remains must be blended with compost and soil amendments to avoid causing changes in pH that are unfriendly to plants and soil health, whereas the compost resulting from terramation can be scattered or worked into the soil without any further amendment. Finally, burial of composted remains requires less land than traditional or green burial and scattering of compost does not require any permanent space.

Composted remains can be buried or scattered just as cremains are. Human composting produces natural compost which can be added to houseplants, a garden, or a shrub or tree planting. If the family does not want all the compost, the firms that provide this service will typically donate all or the remainder of the compost to a land reclamation or conservation project.

Human composting was first made available in Washington state in 2017. It is now available in all states, though the level of service may vary state to state depending on the company you choose, and the benefits of reducing carbon emissions may be eliminated if the remains must be transported a great distance.

If you value reducing your negative impact on the environment, human composting can be a way to accomplish this with your final act.

Some providers:

· Earth Funeral offers “soil transformation”: https://earthfuneral.com/resources/earth-funeral-now-serves-pennsylvania-residents

Services available in about 15 states including PA and NJ. Founded in 2020. Currently their composting facilities are only in Washington state and Nevada, but they plan to open another facility in Maryland early 2026. They are also seeking to add an East coast land reclamation project to their current West coast site.

· Recompose offers “soil transformation”: https://recompose.life/locations/pennsylvania/

Seattle based, serving all 50 states, founded in 2017 and started providing services in 2020, composting facilities and land reclamation site(s) in the Western U.S.

· Return Home offers “terramation”: https://returnhome.com/pennsylvania-human-composting-funeral/

Seattle based, serving all 50 states, composting facilities and land reclamation site(s) in the Western U.S.