One of the things my partner and I have talked about is what to do with our ashes
after we're gone. Of course, we plan to have them mixed with the ashes
of our dogs and spread out somewhere. On January 31, 2019, an article
in BBC News highlighted how Washington State is moving to legalize using
ashes for compost. It makes sense, really. The Earth is running out of
cemeteries and why not contribute your remains to help grow plant life?
Think about how many tombstones sit in older cemeteries that no one
knows. Granted, that some religions mandate burial, but if you can look
past religion (we're all going to be energy as a spirit -or an
earth-bound ghost if you prefer - although you shouldn't), you can do
something after your time to help promote other living things!
There's a company in the U.S. already that inserts ashes in a "bio
urn." The company, called "Living Urn" said a tree urn is a
biodegradable urn or
bio urn
that grows a tree in combination with ashes or cremated remains. The
Living Urn tree urn and the urn itself is made from 100%
biodegradable materials that are all natural and it will grow a living memorial tree. The Living Urn offers a special Bio Urn
for People and a different Bio Urn for pets. You can learn more about them here:
https://www.thelivingurn.com/
Meanwhile here's the BBC article...
How do you compost a human body - and why would you?
BBC NEWS 1-31-19
This
is the vision - in an indoor garden, a honeycomb structure lines the
walls, and inside each cell, a human body composts. When it's done,
loved ones take home a pot of soil, not an urn of ash.
A person's final resting place could be the foundations of a flowerbed or could feed the roots of a tree.
This
is what Washington state is preparing to legalise. If the bill passes,
the western state would be the first in the nation to allow human
composting as a burial option.
Here's what it means to
choose a compost burial - and why a growing group of Americans are
eschewing convention for a new way to rest in peace.
The driving force behind the movement in Washington state is Katrina Spade and her company, Recompose.
It says it can turn you into useable, fertile, soil in 30 days.
"It's
just an accelerated process of natural decomposition," says Nora
Menkin, executive director of People's Memorial, a non-profit funerary
services advocacy group in Seattle, Washington.
The
method Recompose offers is based on the ways we already compost
livestock - with a few changes from Washington State University soil
science researcher Prof Lynne Carpenter-Boggs to make the mixture more
socially acceptable.
Based on research from Prof
Carpenter-Boggs' team, the final process involves placing the body in a
mix of wood chips and similar composting materials, allowing
thermophilic - heat-loving - microbes and bacteria to get to work.
Remains
are also heated to 131 F (55 C), killing off contagions so the
resulting soil is safe to use - a key part of why many supporters prefer
this manner of burial.
"We have all this energy and
potential that's either burned up or sealed away in burials, when it
could be utilized to let life go on," Ms Menkin says.
Here's
the Full Article (that goes into how a corpse would decompose if
buried, and it's icky):
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47031816
