When I die, I want you to plant me and make me a tree. Now in WA, you can.
I am a TV News anchor with a passion for telling stories. This story is one I’ve been following for two years now. Human composting is fascinating.
Signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee in May of 2019, effective in May of 2020, and finally being implemented in the state as of December 2020.
I toured one of the two locations currently offering this alternative.
Green burial a.k.a. natural organic reduction.
Our Evergreen State is leading the way, becoming the first state in the country to legalize this new green burial.
The idea is simple, place a body in a vessel, and gradually reduce the body, turning it into soil a family can take with them.
“We can take those remains and convert them to soil, have it then go back to the family and they can use it for growing fruit trees and roses or whatever they want,” Walt Patrick said.
The result, 4 55-gallon drums of soil. The time frame is about two months, depending on the time of year.
Right now, two locations are currently offering this option. Recompose is an ecological death care company operating in Kent, WA on a commercial scale.
Walt Patrick runs Herland Forest, a not-for-profit, natural burial cemetery tucked away in Klickitat County.
“Our focus is on converting human remains into trees,” Walt Patrick explained to me.
Human composting, also referred to as natural organic reduction, is a more green approach to death care.
It is also a cheaper option than most commercial funerals and cremation. Walt says their green burial service is $3000.
Walt has over 30 years experience transforming the remains of large farm animals into nutrient rich compost.
Now he’s using that same expertise to transform human remains. “You’re dealing with fungi, protozoa, a suite of organisms if you will, that process the different components of the body. The woodchips and the other materials that bring it all together in a symphony of sustainability. My role is kind of directing a process that’s gonna happen anyway,” Walt Patrick explained.
In May of 2019, Governor Inslee signed SB 5001 into law, legalizing natural organic reduction. This law not only legalized natural organic reduction, but also alkaline hydrolysis, or aquamation.
That is a type of cremation using water, instead of flames. That law went into effect in May of 2020.
I wanted to find out how it works.
“What we’re doing here is essentially traditional burial, we’re basically going back to the way it would have been done a century and a half ago,” Walt Patrick explained.
Once the body is in place, the cradle is sealed. The next step, heating it up, slowly, using solar panels and heat tapes.
Inside, a probe to track the temperature. Walt has to satisfy bringing the cradle to 131 degrees for three days, the legal minimum.
“We actually want to go higher than that, so we get a better, aggressive breakdown of the bones.”
The cradle is rotated once a week, an important step in the process.
Rocking the cradle back and forth helps oxygenate the materials inside. This helps promote the breakdown and reduce any methane gas production. If you put a body in the ground and put it in dirt, most of the carbon will be converted into methane, a greenhouse gas 20x worse than carbon dioxide. That’s why getting oxygen to the body is important to create carbon dioxide, aka, plant food.
On December 20th, Herland Forest performed what they refer to as the first human investment. The end result will be 4 55-gallon drums of soil.
Those can be either donated back to the forest to plant a strategic tree, or taken home by the family.
Walt says they will store soil on site for up to a year, since they want to accommodate the family’s needs during whatever season.
The timeframe varies. “When somebody dies in the winter than it’s going to be slower than if they die in the summer,” Walt Patrick said.
However, the target is two months. Right now Walt only has one cradle but he has completed the rack for a second cradle and started construction on the vessel. The option to recompose a body is certainly not for everyone.
“Most people are not capable of thinking about their death, how many people die without a will?”
But for those who wish to become part of a tree, it’s now a viable option.
“Most people don’t know that green burial and the various forms of it are available,” said Walt Patrick.
Walt says you should be in control of how your remains are handled.
“They need to have their desires, their wishes, in writing locked in, so the family knows exactly what they want, otherwise there’s gonna be debate and argument, and this is different. Because when people are in shock, they cling to what they know. This is new, and it’s different, and it’s gonna take time. You have to plant the idea in the mind of people a long time before it comes due.”
Walt says as their Natural Organic Reduction operation grows, they are seeking interns who want to do this kind of work.
Other states considering human composting right now include Colorado, California, and New York.