It’s been talked about for years. Why not just compost a human persons remains rather than go through all the rigmarole of cremation or digging a hole for a grave. It seems we’re getting there. Here’s a story that explains how ..

“Essentially, we’ve optimized what would happen in nature,” says funeral director Brienna Smith, chief operating officer of Return Home Green Funeral Home in Seattle. “It takes about 60 to 90 days for the human body to transform from what it is originally—flesh and bone, like us—into compost.”

Smith describes the process of Natural Organic Reduction—also called “terramation”—as “gentle, noninvasive, and slow-moving.” 

During the first step, the deceased is gently bathed with essential oil soaps. Their hair is washed, and their eyes and mouth are closed. They are then dressed in a soft, compostable garment—Smith says at Return Home, these are lovingly made by her own mother, Kim Yarger, who has dubbed them “Terra Couture.” Once the body has been prepared for terramation, it is placed in a polycarbonate vessel measuring about eight feet long, three and a half feet wide, and three and a half feet tall.

“We mix straw, alfalfa, and sawdust together at a very specific ratio to the person’s body weight,” Smith says. “We place the base layer of organics in the vessel, the person is placed on top of the base layer, and then there’s a second layer of organics. The person is sort of snuggled between the two layers.”

Once the deceased has been placed into the vessel, microbes begin to break down the remains. During this time, temperature is key.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen—nothing is life-giving like this,” says Smith, who was formerly a traditional funeral director. “It’s such a mindful choice for people who have lived their whole lives having recycled and composted. It’s a way for them to feel like their death is aligning with the way they lived.”

Get the full story at this LINK … https://www.popsci.com/science/how-human-composting-works/