The world's first burial plant for human composting is slated to open in Seattle in the spring of 2021. This is finally made possible after Washington state legislators legalized the posthumous composting process earlier this year.
Seattle-based company Recompose will be the first to offer the city the transformation of human remains - bones, teeth, and everything else - into perfect organic soil.
“Human-to-soil transformation takes place inside our reusable hexagonal rearrangement vessels. When the process is over, families can take home some of the soil they created, and the gardens on site will remind us that all life is interconnected,”writes Recompose on its website.
The composting of human bodies has caused a lot of controversy, but after the state of Washington legalized the process in April 2019, the case is moving forward and the first facility begins to operate in Seattle.
The Seattle facility is located in an open area of 18,500 sq. feet. The architects envisioned an abundance of natural light and greenery. The facility contains 75 hexagonal vessels for storing human bodies for later decomposition. The vessels are stacked in such a way that they give the impression of a hive.
There is also a special central space for ceremonies and hive vessels, as it were, are gathered around it:
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One of the main reasons why we all look forward to composting the human body is for environmental protection. Both burial and cremation have negative impacts on the environment, but composting bodies is much more environmentally friendly.
However, Recompose is still awaiting approval for their unique method. The method requires placing human bodies inside one of the vessels. The jars are filled with straw, alfalfa and sawdust and are strictly controlled for temperature and humidity. Microbial activity can destroy the body and make it one with the soil within 30 days.
One of the most significant benefits of composting the human body is that the Recompose method consumes only 1/8 of the energy that was spent in cremation.
The decomposition process of one human body will create an almost cubic yard of soil. The family members of the deceased person can take this soil. In case of refusal, it is planned to use the soil for reforestation of areas in the south of Washington.