'Give back to the earth': Washington could legalize composting of human remains

The legislation, if signed, would see the state become the first in the US to legalize the alternative to cremation and burial

When Briar Bates was dying she made a request to her friend, Katrina Morgan: bury me in my garden.

As a 42-year-old artist and landscape designer, Bates had spent years tending to her garden on Vashon Island, Washington, and didn't want to leave it behind when she died, according to Morgan.