A bill that would make composting of human beings a legal form of human disposition cleared its first hurdle in the State of Washington passing a Senate vote with a 36-11 margin last week.  You can read an article about the vote and Senate bill SB 5001 here.

The bill’s main sponsor, Sen. Jamie Pedersen of Seattle commented on the passage out of the Senate, “I will make a claim that this bill may change the world”, he stated.

According to the article from the Inlander of Spokane, Washington, “the bill would change that (limits of disposition by earth burial or cremation) by adding the option to naturally turn a body into soil with the help of other organic materials.  Proponents initially referred to that process as “recomposition.” but that has since been amended in the bill to the term “natural organic reduction.”

SB 5001 would also add the state of Washington to a list of states that allow alkaline hydrolysis as a legal form of human disposition.

Sen. Mike Padden of Spokane Valley voted against the bill and he is quoted in the article with this comment, “Our treatment of human remains is a measure of our society’s respect for the deceased.  Burial has long been considered an appropriate method of delivering the body to its final resting place, in accordance with tradition, custom, and faith.  So is cremation when handled appropriately.  The composting or decomposition of human remains is a radical departure from these traditions.  We need to carefully consider whether these practices offer the respect that is proper, and whether these practices are environmentally sound.

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