A new alternative to traditional funerals – composting

“From dust we come, to dust we return,” is spoken at funerals, but it hasn’t really been possible until now.

From south of Seattle comes a new alternative to traditional funerals – composting. Bodies are composted into soil by a company called, Recompose:

“At the Greenhouse, each body’s transformation from human to soil happens inside of a Recompose vessel. This takes 30 days. The facility houses 10 Recompose vessels, which are constantly monitored. After 30 days, our staff moves the soil into a finishing container, where it cures for 2-4 weeks.”

One 64-ounce container of soil is mailed to a loved one, and the remaining soil is available for pickup or is donated to the Bells Mountain conservation forest.

Recompose services a half-dozen counties locally, although the company can accept non-embalmed bodies from around the country.

Embalming is bad for the environment and funerals are expensive. Cremation is also bad for the environment – each cremation is equal to leaving your car running for three months.

Recompose costs more than $5,000, so the price is still prohibitive for many.

I believe our eternal souls ‘move on’ when we pass on. But no matter what happens to our souls, without question our earthly bodies get left behind.

Recompose gives us the opportunity to be transformed from a dead body into a four-pound bag of fertilizer.

After a lifetime of taking from the Earth, finally we have a way to give back to the earth after we’re gone.