By Nick Baum
WEDNESDAY – 5/22/19
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill Tuesday that makes the state of Washington the first state to allow composting as an alternative to the traditional burial or cremation after death. However, it will be another year until it goes into effect next May.
State Senator Jamie Pedersen sponsored the bill. When enquired about the decision to allow companies to compost citizens after death, he quoted, “It’s about time we apply some technology, allow some technology to be applied to this universal human experience … because we think that people should have the freedom to determine for themselves how they’d like their body to be disposed of.”
Recompose is the primary company of human composting. In an interview with news company KIRO, CEO Katrina Spade described the process. “(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 the soil.”
Sources and Pictures: Wikipedia, CNN, KIRO, Washington.gov
