Even as more people opt for interment in simple shrouds or biodegradable caskets, urban cemeteries continue to fill up and cremation is a problematic option for the environmentally conscious, as the process releases greenhouse gases. Now Catrin Einhorn reports at the NYT that architect Katrina Spade has designed a facility for human composting that is attracting interest from environmental advocates and scientists. “Composting makes people think of banana peels and coffee grounds,” says Spade. But “our bodies have nutrients. What if we could grow new life after we’ve died?” The Urban Death Project's plans call for a three-story-high polished concrete composting structure in Seattle called "the core," which would be surrounded by contemplative spaces for visitors. After a ceremony - religious or not - friends and family would help insert the body into the core. Over several weeks a body would turn into about one cubic yard of compost, enough to plant a tree or a patch of flowers.
For most people in the US, there are two options after death: You are buried or you are burned. The costs, both environmental and financial, are significant, but we accept these options because they are all that we know. Conventional burial is anything but natural. Cadavers are preserved with embalming fluid containing formaldehyde, a carcinogen then buried in caskets made of metal or wood, and placed inside a concrete or metal burial vault. The tradition of embalming in the United States is relatively new, beginning in the Civil War when northern families needed to get their dead men home from the South. Spade understands the idea of human composting may be icky to some, but it’s an important part of her concept, the thing that differentiates it from natural burial, which requires extensive land. "I’m sure I’ll continue to get pushback, but I’ll continue to be stubborn because I think it’s really important that we’re part of a larger ecosystem.”
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Geodirk on Tuesday April 14 2015, @01:29PM
I live in one of the states that allows Liquid Cremation. Seems like a real good option to burial, cremation, and the above referenced composting. See here:
http://gizmodo.com/what-is-liquid-cremation-and-why-is-it-illegal-1696897615 [gizmodo.com]
(Score: 1) by kadal on Tuesday April 14 2015, @05:35PM
Wow, hadn't heard of this. I thought the Parsis [wikipedia.org] had the craziest burial technique: feed the vultures! [wikipedia.org]. But that's become troublesome because the Indian vulture population has been decimated.
Liquid cremation tops that though. I don't understand why it's illegal in the other states.
(Score: 1) by Geodirk on Tuesday April 14 2015, @07:08PM
It's probably illegal because it is so cheap and all the funeral homes/cemeteries can't make a killing (pun intended) off of the deceased. I remember seeing liquid cremation advertised in the newspaper obituaries as "Starting at $800". No ridiculous fees for all the other normal stuff that goes into a typical funeral.
It is hard to get over the "flushing grandma down the drain" logic that the article above describes. I think lawmakers would have a hard time with that one too.