“IS HUMAN COMPOSTING REALLY A THING?”

The funeral industry is not exempt from start-ups and innovative ideas that go nowhere. I’m sure you could think of one yourself – one of them might even have been yours – but I won’t call out any here.
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That’s why it’s not wholly surprising that the most common question I get from the media, regulators, and curious practitioners is “Is human composting real?” To which I say, “Yes.”
There is a unique energy around legalizing natural organic reduction, in that most legislation has been consumer-driven, with support from practitioners. As one of the most progressive organizations in this space, CANA is the first death care association to answer these questions and provide insight from a funeral profession perspective. Informed by more than 100 years of experience in emerging technologies, we were eager to host some of the earliest NOR practitioners at our events and offered opportunities for question-and-answer sessions to explore this groundbreaking idea. Now we can compile what we know – and what we have yet to figure out – here, for you.

​NATURAL ORGANIC REDUCTION

Natural Organic Reduction, also known as, NOR and Natural Reduction are the terms used in legislation and regulations related to this process, so that’s how CANA refers to it. More commonly used terms by the media or general public are Human Composting, Soil Transformation, or Body Composting, which are descriptive and useful for understanding the process more broadly. Some practitioners have coined proprietary terms like Terramation and Recomposition to describe their specific business offerings.

NOR was first legalized in 2019 in Washington. Colorado and Oregon followed in 2021 and Vermont and California in 2022, with several other states considering the practice in the coming years. To legislators, it is a thing.

But what kind of thing? Here’s where it can get interesting.

THE PROCESS: SCIENCE

Compost is organic material that has decomposed to a nutrient-rich soil. At home, compost is food scraps and yard waste. For farms, it might be the livestock or the crops after harvest. Soil is, in fact, a mixture of decomposed organic matter with other naturally occurring elements like gases, liquids, living organisms, etc.

Once the waste decomposes, it can’t be separated from the other soil around it to say “that’s the orange peel, that’s the eggshell, and that’s the dandelion” — it’s all one piece of earth.

Human composting is the same but different. First, you can’t add a human body to your compost barrel: it’s illegal and it’s not what most people have in mind when they think of a proper send-off. Second, humans are large animals and require a sizeable quantity of other organic material to mix with during decomposition. Plus, anyone who composts knows that you need to keep air circulating and bacteria alive so that the matter decays rather than molds or rots. For human composting, this is where the professionals come in.

The interest in composting for human disposition is not new. Mary Roach’s Stiff, first published in 2003, shares the story of Tim Evans, then a graduate student at the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, who working to find a way to compost human remains. Evans had to aerate the compost pile and acknowledged that “It was hard being out there” to properly tend to the composting remains. The real need was to make composting doable within a reasonable timeframe, in compliance with regulations regarding body disposition, and in an acceptable manner for families.

SAME BUT DIFFERENT

In all states, the law allows for cremation and burial. As we’ve discussed before, some states have expanded their cremation law to include alkaline hydrolysis (aka water cremation, Aquamation, Resomation, etc.) Burial is easiest to understand: intact body placed in the ground (or crypt, mausoleum, etc.). Cremation and alkaline hydrolysis take the intact body, put it through a process using a combination of heat and/or chemicals so that just the bone matter of the body remains. But NOR takes an intact body and goes through a process that results in soil. There are no ashes to place or keep or scatter, no DNA to identify your loved one from other soil, generally no way of preventing comingling of remains with others’ (often prohibited in all cremation laws), and maybe not even a place to visit (depending on where the soil ends up).

When Katrina Spade and Recompose were exploring how to get Recomposition legalized in Washington State, the process was not legal anywhere in the world. With input from law professor Tanya Marsh, who focuses on funeral law, the company decided that the most straightforward way of bringing NOR to the public would be to create a new statute for human reduction. That’s why some states are creating a new disposition category of “reduction of human remains” with subcategories for cremation, AH and NOR. The common factor in each is that they accelerate the reduction of human remains in a facility, using specially designed equipment.
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It is CANA’s position that natural organic reduction is a unique form of disposition, not a type of cremation, and should be regulated separately. This means there are three ways of reducing a human body more quickly than burial: cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, and reduction. Each offers a unique process that requires specific equipment and training, and provides choice for families to do what feels right to them.

Adapted from Tanya Marsh's August 2022 presentation titled "The Challenges of Regulating Emerging Death Care Technologies: Green Burial, Alkaline Hydrolysis, & Natural Organic Reduction." With thanks for her expertise in the these topics.

The differences we’ve described, as seen in the chart above, are the reason that these three reduction methods must be regulated separately. While the core of a death care professional’s job doesn’t change with the process — they take custody of the deceased, care for their loved ones, carry out the family’s wishes, and ensure that the remains get where they need to go with dignity and care — the processes themselves are very different.

The funeral profession’s first concern is always the dignified treatment of the deceased, and in the case of new processes that requires the training and knowledge to do it right. For regulators, that means setting the standard to measure the safety and ability to perform the process. This includes considerations for location and traffic, the environment and emissions, and employee health and safety. Both funeral professionals and regulators are dedicated to providing options to the public that meet all expectations for safety and excellence.

​THE PROCESS: R&D

An internet search will highlight a few practitioners in the Pacific Northwest and the American Southwest who appear in news articles discussing this new option for consumers. Because human reduction is only beginning to be legalized, there are currently few options for the public to choose NOR. Funeral homes that currently offer NOR have carefully created their own vessels and developed their own technology, processes and proprietary mixes of organic material to reduce a human body to soil. That means that the process is pretty much limited to those who are willing to undertake the same sort of research and development process themselves. The only other option is for existing practitioners who offer NOR to partner with other funeral service providers to serve their families – though some of these providers are already operating at capacity.

Current cremation and alkaline hydrolysis regulations require equipment manufactured specifically for the process (hence, purpose-built). They require this to standardize the process and ensure the health and safety of the operators and public seeking these options. The lack of manufacturers of body composting vessels is a barrier to entry for many who would add it as an option for their communities – at least for the moment.

Without the uniform equipment, each practitioner’s process is proprietary, but there are a few things about the science in current methods that are universal. First, the only things that go in the vessel are organic matter. That means the body, either bare or shrouded only in organic natural fibers, the plant matter and bacteria, and little else. Brie Smith of Return Home advises families that, “If it can go through your gut, it can go through our vessel,” meaning that families can place meaningful keepsakes in, too, so long as they can be composted. Unwrapped Twinkies? Yes! That penny you swallowed on a dare? No—or rather: it’s going to come out the other side.

The reduction of the body takes anywhere from 7 weeks to 12 months, depending on the practitioner and their process. Loved ones are encouraged to be present when the body is placed, or “laid in," and to visit during the reduction. During the transformation, the vessel will run hot, spiking more than 130°F as microbes get to work. This high temperature also kills pathogens, bacteria and viruses that might be present in the body (though some medical conditions prevent NOR and some viruses and prions are not killed by NOR). Each provider also has a proprietary method for ensuring that air and matter circulates so the compost process generates soil.

When the process is complete, families can receive approximately 27 cubic feet of soil from the reduction of their loved one – enough to fill the bed of a pickup truck. As Earth Funeral Group of Washington says, “The nutrient-rich soil created during the process is used for land restoration and improving soil health. Healthy soil is paramount to a healthy ecosystem as it filters water, provides nutrients to plants and animals, sequesters carbon, reduces landslides and flooding, and helps regulate global temperatures.”

For a farmer or gardener, this volume of soil can be wonderful. Others can choose to take a portion of the soil to use on their own property or to keep at home in an urn or jewelry or some other keepsake, just as they do with cremated remains (though the soil needs to be sufficiently dry first). Remaining soil is then spread by the practitioner in nature. The Natural Funeral in Colorado offers a “laying out” ceremony when the resulting soil is spread on personal or public lands.

growing interest

Cremation has gained popularity over the past 50 years largely because it offered an alternative to burial. It offered new options and captured the imagination of people seeking a new ways of personalizing their funeral. As in life, people want to express their values in death. Providing diverse options are good for families to personalize their experience. NOR practitioners report that their early adopters are “a diverse mix of people from all over” – that’s why so many states are moving quickly to make the option legal.

While there is opposition to the practice from outside and inside funeral service, there is an energy for NOR that we don’t see very often in funeral disposition legalization. The general public is excited for the option, legislators are energized to bring innovative ideas to the fore, and practitioners are curious if the participation in CANA’s recent events is anything to go by. Some funeral homes are poised to bring NOR to their community as soon as they can.
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Any time I’m asked about a new form of disposition, the inevitable next question is how fast it will grow. Will NOR replace cremation? Or will it speed up the decline of burials? Would early adopters have chosen burial or cremation if NOR was not an option? As I often say, my crystal ball is broken. Only time will tell. CANA’s own statistics show that, like widespread adoption of any new technology, a critical mass must make that choice before it takes off. CANA’s Annual Statistics Report will be tracking these data as the law changes to allow this form of disposition, so look for more content on the topic.

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With thanks to Katrina Spade of Recompose for participating in CANA’s 2021 Convention, and to Brie Smith of Return Home and Seth Viddal of The Natural Funeral for participating in the Green Funeral Conference 2022, and to each of them for sharing their experience with curious practitioners. They are quoted from their presentations on the topic of NOR and members can read more from their sessions in The Cremationist. Not a member yet? Consider joining for just $495 to stay in touch with emerging trends and best practices in death care.

CANA’s Board of Directors approved a Position Statement on Natural Organic Reduction on November 16, 2022, with recommendations on regulating the process as more states are interested. You can read it as well as statements on recycling, alkaline hydrolysis, and CANA’s Model Law on Cremation here.

CANA's 2023 Cremation Symposium continues the conversation on NOR and other Emerging Trends with a special session moderated by SCI AVP and CANA President Caressa Hughes. We'll spark debate among participants on important topics including the changes to the FTC Funeral Rule, split licensure and new forms of disposition. Join the discussion by registering to attend the Cremation Symposium this February 8-10, 2023 in Las Vegas!

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Barbara Kemmis, CAE is Executive Director of the Cremation Association of North America, where she promotes all things cremation through member programs, education and strategic partnerships. After more than 20 years of experience in association leadership, Barbara knows that bringing people together to advance common goals is not only fun, but the most effective strategy to get things done.
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Barbara has served two prior professions as the Director of Member Services at the American Theological Library Association and Vice President of Library and Nonprofit Services at the Donors Forum (now Forefront). Barbara earned a master’s degree in library science from Dominican University, a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from North Park University and a B.A. from Earlham College. In 2021, Barbara earned the Certified Association Executive credential in recognition for her expertise and experience.