Composting Of Human Bodies After Death Allowed In New York

New York is the latest state in the United States to legalise human composting. After death, a person's body can now be turned into soil, which is seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to burial or cremation, as per the BBC.

A body is placed in a container and allowed to decay over a period of weeks. This process is also known as "natural organic reduction." The legislative action makes New York the sixth US state to do so since 2019 and provides residents the access to a different, green manner of burial that is said to be ecologically sound. 

However, remains must be delivered to a cemetery corporation certified as an organic reduction facility, suitably contained and ventilated, and not containing "a battery, battery pack, power cell, radioactive implant or radioactive device".

Special above-ground facilities are used for the process. A body is placed in a sealed container with chosen materials like wood chips, alfalfa and straw grass, and it decomposes over time with the help of bacteria, as per the outlet. 

After approximately a month, the soil is given to loved ones after it has been heated to kill any infectious microbes. It can be used for planting trees, vegetables or flowers.

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BBC added that human composting advocates argue that it is not only a more environmentally friendly option, but also a more practical one in cities where space for cemeteries is limited. However, Catholic bishops in New York opposed the measure because they believed that human remains shouldn't be treated like "domestic waste."

Washington became the first US state to legalise it in 2019. Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and California quickly followed.