New York State Legalizes Composting Human Bodies After Death

Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed Assembly Bill A382, which legalizes the composting of human remains in the state.

The process, also known as “natural organic reduction” or terramation, involves placing the body in a reusable vessel with a bedding of wood chips or straw, which is then broken down by microbes into nutrient-dense soil that can be used as fertilizer.

This vessel is connected to an HVAC system and left to decompose for 60 days.

At the 30-day mark, any inorganic material is screened out and the remaining bones are ground down and returned to the vessel.

After another 30 days, the family is given the final product: a cubic yard of nutrient-rich soil, equivalent to around 36 bags, that can be used to plant trees or fertilize conservation land, forests, or gardens.

Advocates of this method argue that it is a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burials, which use fossil fuels.

However, religious groups have criticized the bill, arguing that it does not provide the necessary respect for bodily remains.

New York is the sixth state in the US to legalize this form of burial, following Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and California.

New York state Assembly Member Amy Paulin (D-Westchester) and state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-Queens), co-sponsored the bill to legalize human composting as part of measures the state is putting in place to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050, The New York Post reports.

Micah Truman, the CEO of Washington state’s ‘Return Home,’ an “eco-friendly” funeral service that offers human composting, has expressed excitement about New York’s recent legalization of the practice. “This is a huge step for accessible green death care nationwide,” he said.

The New York State Catholic Conference released a statement on Nov 14 expressing their opposition to human composting.

The statement said that New York State Bishops opposed legislation allowing the macabre process because “composting is a process typically used for household or agricultural waste, and does not provide the respect due to bodily remains.”

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