Ecological burial through composting - will it become an alternative to traditional methods?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2025 4:10 am
What happens after death? This is one of the most mysterious questions that cannot be answered with certainty. However, there is something we can say about the existence of our bodies after death: the Recompose project proposes to send them for recycling.
Recompose’s flagship facility, set to open in Seattle in spring 2021, aims to combine traditional funeral rituals with environmental stewardship and offer a more sustainable alternative to conventional burial options. Today’s burials often involve chemical embalming, while cremation uses eight times more energy, according to architects Olson Kundig, who uae number data designed the facility. Recompose offers a first-of-its-kind “natural organic decomposition” service that “turns human remains into soil in about 30 days, helping to nurture new life after death.”
The idea for Recompose emerged in 2016 at the Creative Exchange Residency event for designers in Seattle, where Recompose founder and CEO Katrina Spade and her team teamed up with architects Olson Kundig to create a prototype of the project.
The passage of a new Human Remains Act in Washington State has made the idea a reality. In May of this year, Washington became the first state to recognize “natural organic decomposition” as an alternative to cremation or burial. The law is set to take effect on May 1, 2020.
Olson Kundig Architects have given a whole new meaning to the term “deathbed”: at the Recompose center, special capsules will perform its role, where decomposition will take place. The body will be placed in a capsule and covered with wood chips, after a while a suitable environment for thermophilic bacteria will form inside, which will turn the remains into usable soil.
But how is this different from burial in a cemetery? “By turning human remains into soil, we minimize waste, avoid contaminating groundwater with embalming fluid, and prevent carbon emissions from cremation and coffin manufacturing,” the Recompose website says. The company continues: “By allowing organic processes to transform our bodies and those of our loved ones into soil, we strengthen our relationship with natural cycles while enriching the earth.”
Recompose’s flagship facility, set to open in Seattle in spring 2021, aims to combine traditional funeral rituals with environmental stewardship and offer a more sustainable alternative to conventional burial options. Today’s burials often involve chemical embalming, while cremation uses eight times more energy, according to architects Olson Kundig, who uae number data designed the facility. Recompose offers a first-of-its-kind “natural organic decomposition” service that “turns human remains into soil in about 30 days, helping to nurture new life after death.”
The idea for Recompose emerged in 2016 at the Creative Exchange Residency event for designers in Seattle, where Recompose founder and CEO Katrina Spade and her team teamed up with architects Olson Kundig to create a prototype of the project.
The passage of a new Human Remains Act in Washington State has made the idea a reality. In May of this year, Washington became the first state to recognize “natural organic decomposition” as an alternative to cremation or burial. The law is set to take effect on May 1, 2020.
Olson Kundig Architects have given a whole new meaning to the term “deathbed”: at the Recompose center, special capsules will perform its role, where decomposition will take place. The body will be placed in a capsule and covered with wood chips, after a while a suitable environment for thermophilic bacteria will form inside, which will turn the remains into usable soil.
But how is this different from burial in a cemetery? “By turning human remains into soil, we minimize waste, avoid contaminating groundwater with embalming fluid, and prevent carbon emissions from cremation and coffin manufacturing,” the Recompose website says. The company continues: “By allowing organic processes to transform our bodies and those of our loved ones into soil, we strengthen our relationship with natural cycles while enriching the earth.”