Human composting may soon be legal in Washington state

On Friday, the Washington state legislature passed a bill legalizing the "recomposition" of human remains, defined as the "contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to soil." If signed by Governor Jay Inlee, the bill will become law next year. From CNN:

Katrina Spade is the CEO of the human composting company, Recompose, and told CNN affiliate KIRO-TV she is hoping her company can be one of the first to build a facility for the practice...

"(The) body is covered in natural materials, like straw or wood chips, and over the course of about three to seven weeks, thanks to microbial activity, it breaks down into soil," she said.

While the dead body is being broken down, Spade said families of the deceased will be able to visit her facility and will ultimately receive the soil that remains of their loved. It is up to the family how they want to use that soil, Spade said.

"And if they don't want that soil, we'll partner with local conservation groups around the Puget Sound region so that that soil will be used to nourish the land here in the state," she said.

Having already passed the Senate, Sen. Jamie Pedersen's SB 5001 -- a less expensive way of dealing with human remains that is better for the environment -- is moving quickly through the House. #waleg pic.twitter.com/W0HgLkwCPK

- WA Senate Democrats (@WASenDemocrats) February 22, 2019

image: "Vision of a Future Recompose Facility" by MOLT Studios