Green Funeral Alternative: Human Composting – A Halloween Offering…
Would you allow your body to be composted after death? There are a lot of good reasons for taking this approach. Morticians in densely populated cities and small towns are beginning to realize this is a better way to go.
Caitlin Doughty, a well-published author and full-time mortician, runs a quirky YouTube channel called “Ask A Mortician.” On this channel, she discusses how we cope with death. She chooses to take a serious-up-beat, fresh-air, windows-open approach. Whether discussing historical, modern or alternative funeral methodologies and the social parameters they ensconce, she always makes us laugh about the ultimate last breath, but at the same time we find ourselves learning something useful or important that might apply to our own lives.
One such example is her segment on Human Composting. There are a number of states where it is now legal to compost the remains of relatives who have passed. Why? Because there’s generally a significantly lower carbon footprint to compost our remains than it is to embalm and bury or cremate them. In this segment Caitlin deep dives into the compost with her friend and colleague Katherine Spade of Sealtte-based “Recompose” a funeral home that composts!
Caitlin lives in California, which has not yet passed a bill for human composting, but she and some activist friends are convinced this is a good way forward for the future. Want to learn more? Watch Caitlin as she talks with guests who are doing human composting in the video below!
Photo credit featured image: From the video “Let’s Visit a Human Composting Facility!” on YT channel “Ask a Mortician”.
