(Washington Insider Magazine) – State becomes sixth to pass legislation since 2019 giving New Yorkers access to an alternative, eco-friendly method of burial of human bodies.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul legalized natural organic reduction, popularly known as human composting or terramation, after death.
The legislative measure makes the state the sixth to do so since 2019 and gives New Yorkers access to an alternative, green method of burial that is considered environmentally friendly.
Remains must be delivered to a cemetery corporation certified as an organic abatement facility, properly contained and ventilated, and not containing “a battery, battery pack, power cell, radioactive implant, or radioactive device.”
First State to Legalize Human Composting
Washington became the first state to legalize human composting in 2019, followed by Colorado and Oregon in 2021, then Vermont and California later in 2022. New York’s legislation, A382, passed both caucuses over the summer.
In most cases, the deceased is placed in a reusable semi-open container containing suitable bedding (wood chips, alfalfa or straw), ideal for the microbes to do their work. At the end of the process, one stacked cubic yard of nutrient-rich soil is produced, equivalent to 36 sacks of soil that can then be used as fertilizer.
“Anything we can do to get people away from concrete linings, fancy caskets and embalming, we should do and support,” said Michelle Menter, manager of Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve in downtown New York, according to The Guardian.
The New York State Catholic Conference, a group that represents bishops in the state, has long opposed the bill, calling the burial method “inappropriate.”
“A process that is perfectly appropriate for returning vegetable trimmings to the ground is not necessarily appropriate for human bodies,” Dennis Poust, the organization’s executive director, told The Associated Press.
“Human bodies are not household waste and we do not believe the process meets the standard of reverent treatment of our earthly remains,” he added.
This article is written by El Diario.
