By Aleksander Gurgul ((Wyborcza)
“
They do not want candles on the graves, criticize the habit of going to the cemetery and even call for their liquidation.
At a time of year when most of us are preparing for All Saints' Day, some media are attacking Polish traditions.
They do not hide the fact that they feel closer to alternative forms of celebration
, ”the TVP [Polish public television channel, editor's note] newspaper stormed in the fall of 2019, while, in the columns of
Gazeta Wyborcza
, we had evoked new “
green
”
forms
of burials that are starting to appear in the world, but also non-ecological plastic candles with which Poles fill cemeteries by the thousands on November 1 of each year.
Read also: Ecological burial, a practice that is developing in France
The Church against human compost
The indignation of the journalists of [TVP channel] director Jacek Kurski had been sparked by a series of articles, including one in which we reported on a new law passed by Washington State (on the Pacific coast, not to be confused with the city of Washington) which now authorizes the transformation of the body of the deceased into compost.
Humusation takes place in special capsules and lasts about thirty days.
The microbes turn the body into a soil rich in minerals, which feels and smells similar to compost sold in garden centers.
This process is promoted and accelerated by oxygen and humidity, as well as wood chips, alfalfa and grass that cover the body of the deceased.
The composting process is less polluting than incineration, which requires a large amount of fuel
American law allows this compost to be scattered almost everywhere, just like the ashes from an urn after a cremation, as we often see in American films.
However, the composting process is less polluting than incineration, which requires a large amount of fuel.
In addition, it is possible to entrust this compost to the rangers of one of the cinerary forests that appear in the United States (there are also some in Germany, for example).
Another argument in favor of composting human bodies: the lack of space.
With a world population expected to reach ten billion by 2050, it could be increasingly difficult to secure a cemetery concession and build new ones.
Also, by opting for humusation, Americans are not dependent on the clergy who run cemeteries.
No wonder then that, in Washington State, the Church was the main opponent of this ecological form of departure to the afterlife.
Legalization of the composting of the dead
The company Recompose, about which we then spoke, is a pioneer in the humusation sector.
For several years, activists and environmentalists carried out campaigns and lobbying actions with state authorities.
The first six people had volunteered to be made into compost when they died as part of scientific research in the heights of North Carolina.
This pilot project was carried out under the supervision of scientists from Western Carolina University.
In May 2019, human composting was legalized.
Washington State has passed Law 5001, signed by Governor Jay Inslee, which allows "
natural organic reduction
".
A year later, the first licenses to operate ecological funeral homes were granted.
The composting of the first bodies was scheduled for spring 2021.
The cost of the service offered by Recompose is 5500 dollars and includes the transfer of the body if it is "in a close radius"
Everything is going as planned, despite the difficulties linked to the coronavirus pandemic and the withdrawal of some of the investors (more than $ 6.7 million had been raised).
The company Recompose left the Sodo port district of Seattle to settle in the suburbs of the city of Kent where one of the people involved in the project handed over its warehouse to it.
The company recently announced that its capsules house the first ten bodies (the original plan at Sodo was to house up to 32 capsules).
Ernest Brooks II (pioneer of underwater photography, environmentalist and philanthropist), Lois Jean Garland (died of pancreatic cancer at 61) and Robert Michael "
Amigo Bob
" Cantisano (pioneer of organic farming) are among the first to be placed in the capsules in mid-December.
The Recompose website posts touching obituaries online of Americans who have opted for composting themselves or for whom the family has chosen this method of burial.
A final farewell before composting
We can read for example this last tribute to Alexandra Marie (Sandy) Olson, who died on January 28, 2021: “
Sandy was an avid reader, always a book in hand, especially thrillers and love stories.
She also loved knitting cozy clothes for people and dogs and sewed beautiful quilts for her family
”.
Deborah Laverne Kincell Miller's family have already announced that after the pandemic, they will invite friends and family to a ceremony to plant a tree in her memory.
A traditional coffin burial can cost over $ 10,000
The cost of the service offered by Recompose is $ 5,500 and includes the transfer of the body if it is "
in a close radius
".
As Anna Swenson showed in an interview with
Gazeta Wyborcza
, cremation in the United States costs a minimum of $ 2,000 (a low price which also explains why most Americans choose this type of burial) while a burial traditional casket can cost over $ 10,000.
Composting can therefore be a financially attractive alternative.
Especially for the residents of Washington State, who like to emphasize their difference in ecology and nature conservation.
During our email exchange in 2019, Anna Swenson estimated that around 13,000 people had subscribed to her company's newsletter, demonstrating the interest in humusation services.
Recompose currently expects the composting of 750 to 800 bodies per year.
One body, one ton of CO2
According to Anna Swenson, each composting avoids the emission of a ton of carbon dioxide.
This process requires only one-eighth of the energy required for a cremation.
After 30 days, relatives of the deceased can take the compost to Bells Mountain, which is home to 280 hectares of forests in southern Washington State.
The organization in charge of it is committed to ensuring that this site remains a wildlife reserve.
Human compost will be used to restore wetlands and protect endangered plant species.
The relatives of the deceased will be able to take the opportunity to admire a volcano, Mount Saint Helens.
In the future, dispersing the compost in a nature reserve or cinerary forest could also cause more people to get involved in the protection of this type of site because they will feel bound by death. of their relatives.
Cremation destroys all the potential we have to come back to earth after we die
Katrina Spade, founder of Recompose and heroine of many American environmentalists
Recompose is working with a Californian artist to compose music or organize a farewell ceremony adapted to an ecological funeral.
As the
Seattle Times reported
, Recompose is no longer the only company in Washington State to have a composting license for “
green burials
”.
Herland Forest, which also operates a cinerary forest near Mount Adams in the south of the state, now also offers this service.
It uses the energy of photovoltaic panels for the composting of bodies.
The Return Home company has also obtained the license issued by the state.
She offers "
natural organic reduction
" at $ 3,800.
As Micah Truman, owner and director of the company, states, traditional methods of burial have in common that they pollute the planet by emitting greenhouse gases - not just during cremations, but also during the production of coffins and gravestones.
Heroine of environmentalists
Katrina Spade, founder of Recompose, has become the heroine of many American environmentalists.
She is regularly invited to conferences.
To one of them, she confessed to having also long believed that cremation was the most lasting form of burial.
"
But think about that for a second.
Cremation destroys any potential that we have to come back to earth after we die,
”she said.
She also reminded the audience that nature copes very well with death and does not need special burial practices, such as man has invented.
“
In nature, death breeds life,
” concludes Katrina Spade.
The idea of creating a new form of burial, more respectful of the planet, came to him during his architectural studies when a friend explained to him that American farmers have been composting for a long time… their sick animals.
Read also: Music, ecology, design ... new funeral services thanks to start-ups
For Katrina Spade, the demand for composting will increase in proportion to the decline of religion.
The founder of Recompose believes that chapels and funeral homes can easily be converted for composting.
“
We believe that access to ecological care for death is a human right,
” she concluded at a conference four years ago.