A Green and Eco-Friendly Alternative

The process of human composting destroys most harmful pathogens. There are three rare diseases that disqualify a body from undergoing human composting: Ebola, prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, and active tuberculosis.

Monitoring for these diseases is the responsibility of hospitals and medical examiners. For patients who have received radiation seed implants, the seeds must be removed and 30 days pass before they are eligible for human composting.

Most full body donations to science or medical research are embalmed and so are not eligible for human composting. A person can be an organ donor and still choose human composting.

In most instances, full body donation and human composting are not compatible. Bodies donated to medical schools and research projects are usually embalmed to extend the time during which they can be studied. Bodies that are embalmed cannot undergo human composting.

A person can be an organ donor and still choose human composting.

Yes, you can donate your organs and choose human composting.

Organs will be removed by medical professionals at the time of death. We will coordinate the transportation of the body back to the funeral home once organ donation is complete. 

Yes, we value diversity in cultural and faith traditions and will work with you to accommodate and celebrate your customs.

The natural organic reduction process creates approximately one cubic yard of soil—approximately 1,000 pounds. Soil tests indicate compost created by the Recompose process is appropriate for established shrubs, trees, house plants, and flower gardens; use on tender annuals should be avoided.

Analysis indicates compost that is good for use on plants. The pH range of Recompose compost is usually between 6.5 and 7, which is ideal for most plants. Electrical conductivity is moderate, indicating the presence of soluble (plant-available) ions. The nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium-sulfur content is balanced, providing good nutrient content with a good supply of macronutrients.

Respiration test results indicate Recompose compost is at “Very Stable” levels, indicating that most of the “fast pool” of sugars have been used up by microbes and nutrients are stabilized. Nitrate content is high, indicating aerobic status and advanced decomposition. Bioassay does show relative immaturity, so we recommend use as a mulch and at lower concentration around roots of young plants.

Recompose follows all compost-testing regulations put forth by the Washington State Department of Licensing and the Board of Health.

The process creates approximately one cubic yard of soil per body, which is roughly 3 x 3 x 3 feet. This amount fills the bed of most pickup trucks and weighs about 1,000 pounds. The process begins with three cubic yards of plant material.

Families can take some or all of the soil home once the process is complete, and donate what does not go home to conservation efforts.

Like human composting, alkaline hydrolysis—also called water cremation, resomation, or aquamation—is a process for transforming a body after death. Alkaline hydrolysis takes place in a pressurized vessel filled with water and potassium hydroxide, which transforms the body into a sand-like material.

In contrast, human composting takes place in a closed, reusable vessel. Human composting creates an environment in which beneficial microbes thrive, with a specific moisture content and ratio of carbon and nitrogen materials.

Alkaline hydrolysis has some of the same environmental benefits as human composting. Both processes are part of a worldwide movement to make death care practices less harmful—and ideally beneficial—to the planet.

Human composting takes place in a closed, reusable vessel while green burial refers to the practice of burying an unembalmed body in a designated green burial cemetery with a simple casket or shroud. Both human composting and green burial encourage natural decomposition.

Human composting is not a type of burial because the body is not placed in the ground. Human composting creates an environment in which beneficial microbes thrive, with a specific moisture content and ratio of carbon and nitrogen materials. The molecular processes that power human composting are the same processes that break down a body during green burial. However, these processes typically take much longer in a green burial context. This is partly because not as much oxygen reaches a body that has been buried underground.

Conceptually, both green burial and natural organic reduction return a body to the earth. Both processes are part of a worldwide movement to make death care practices less harmful—and ideally beneficial—to the planet.

Human composting is a more environmentally-friendly option than burial or cremation. This is because the process does not use fossil fuel like cremation, does not require the casket and cemetery resources of burial, and sequesters carbon as soil is created. As the nutrients in the compost are used over time by the plants in contact with it, the impact of a person’s choice for human composting continues to expand exponentially.

To measure the environmental impact of human composting, expert Dr. Troy Hottle developed a scientific model to compare cremation, conventional burial, green burial, and human composting. The model showed that human composting and green burial perform far better than cremation or conventional burial at reducing carbon. The research showed that between .84 and 1.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide will be saved each time someone chooses human composting.

The soil created by human composting is biologically valuable material that can be used to nourish trees and plants. It can be used in yards, flower gardens, trees, house plants, and in natural environments. Its pH of 6.5 – 7 is ideal for most plants. It has a balanced nutrient content with a good supply of macronutrients.

Families may use their person’s soil to create groves of trees, nourish rose gardens tended by their person while they were alive, or scattered in a favorite natural area.

If you have any questions about what you can do with your person’s soil, our staff is here to help.

Human composting saves carbon through a combination of factors. The process uses 87% less energy than cremation, which typically uses fossil fuel to create sustained heat of over 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 to 4 hours.

No casket or coffin is used during human composting, nor is a concrete grave liner required – all items that add to the carbon footprint of a death.

When human composting transforms the organic material of our bodies, the carbon is captured, or sequestered, in the soil created. Rather than being released as carbon dioxide gas through exhaust during a cremation or as a hydrocarbon gas like methane, the carbon contained in each body returns to the earth. As the nutrients in the compost are used over time by the plants in contact with it, the impact of a person’s choice for human composting continues to expand exponentially.