Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/05/you-can-now-legally-compost-dead-bodies-in-washington-state.html
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That’s great news, I always felt bad about sending all those corpses straight to the landfill.
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Caitlin Doughty will be pleased. Now we just need to get some more states onboard, including CA!
Also, why not Aquamation?
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I wish such sanity was more widespread, and I could specify that my mortal remains should be composted and then spread on my rhubarb patch. 
@thomdunn - the bill went into effect (not affect) but this does not affect my enjoyment of this story. (Please fix if poss, to avoid this error spreading.)
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It’s not really any different than putting cow manure on vegetables and then eating them.
Now Soylent Green can be made by people not of people.
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I’ve had to coordinate 3 funerals in the past few years and there’s no bigger scam and racket out there than cemeteries and funeral homes. They prey on you when you’re at your most vulnerable and because just about all of the smaller, independent homes have been bought up by major corporate conglomerates, the prices for even bare-bones (ha!) services have gone through the roof.
A standard, no-frills burial is close to $10,000 now and just basic cremation (no services) is averaging $2-3K. I advise all my relatives and close friends to purchase burial insurance or pre-paid funerals now cause you don’t want to be stuck with limited options and tough decisions at the point when you really need them.
I’m really fond of green burials now - basically pine boxes and linen shrouds - like God intended. And both my wife and I have already planned and prepaid for our funerals along with wills and powers of attorneys. The last thing I want my children to worry about is what to do with us when we’re gone or how to pay for it.
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No dirt to bury? No wood for a funeral pyre? You might want to consider a sky burial.
I especially like how the bodies of men and women are separated to avoid any whiff of scandal.
(Many other whiffs readily available, I’m sure.)
Parents retired to AZ. Maybe they are considering.
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Is it legal retroactively?
Asking for a friend.
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Now I know where to go to die.
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I’m fine being dumped in a ditch with the other corpses, throw some woodchips on top and put another batch of bodies (human or pets) on top the next week. Because after my corpse plays its part in a ritual, there is no further purpose for it. I certainly won’t have need for a broken down vessel.
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So do the bones compost as well, or are they left intact? You know, for souvenirs.
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Suggest you read Mary Roach’s “Stiff”, about the business and science of corpses. One fascinating take was freeze-drying and chipping a corpse, to use as compost.
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Think of all the organisms that died and just rotted away throughout the billions of years of biological history. Did any of them at any time think to themselves “Am I breaking the law here?”
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According to the FAQ on their website, bones and teeth are decomposed. They do screen the resulting soil for things that don’t. Bone screws and such. Pacemakers.
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So really only sentimental value. I guess I’ll take it.
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