Ariz. bill would legalize natural decomposition as burial alternative
PHOENIX — There may soon be a new option in Arizona funeral care: human composting.
The process, also called natural decomposition, converts human remains into soil and gives grieving family members the opportunity to plant trees and gardens using their loved one’s remains.
“It’s really pretty simple. It’s exactly what happens when leaves fall from the trees and become one with the ground,” Brie Smith, chief operating officer of Return Home, said. “We’re just letting nature take its course, and then [people] are able to move through their grief in this most beautiful, meaningful way.”
Sponsored by Rep. Laurin Hendrix, R-Gilbert, and Sen. T.J. Shope. R-Coolidge, House Bill 2081 and Senate Bill 1042 — dubbed the “Circle of Life” bills — seek to legalize natural decomposition and give Arizonans the option to compost their loved ones after death.
The legislation would change the state’s funeral services law, allowing companies to offer natural organic reduction as an alternative to traditional burial or cremation services. The House and Senate have each approved their own versions of the bills, which are currently awaiting action in the opposite chamber.
“This is all about choice,” said Jake Hinman, lobbyist for Natural Organic Reduction of Arizona. “If this process doesn’t make sense to you, there are many other options out there for your loved ones. But for those that this does make a lot of sense to, we just want to have this option for Arizonans, and it’s really as simple as that.”
Currently, the process is only legal in seven states: Washington, Oregon, Colorado,
California, New York, Vermont and Nevada. Many others are currently considering legislation to legalize the process.
The process of natural decomposition involves the body being placed into a vessel where a variety of organic material, such as straw, alfalfa and wood chips, are added. Within 30 to 60 days, the body breaks down into soil. The process generally costs between $5,000 and $7,000, according to US Funerals Online, which is less than a typical funeral service and about the same as traditional cremation.
Human composting is undertaken by specialized funeral companies such as Washington-based Return Home, which can take clients from 49 out of 50 states. According to Smith, there is a network of mortuary shipping companies and funeral professionals that have worked together to accommodate transporting unembalmed remains across state lines.
Recompose, a specialized funeral company based in Seattle, was the first human-composting facility established in the country. According to founder and CEO Katrina Spade, Arizona currently ranks third among the states in the number of loved ones sent to the Recompose facility.
Spade said the hard part of developing the process is already done. Companies have figured out the best practices of natural decomposition, which will make it easier for states to implement legislation.
“The reality is, this process is well-tested,” she said. “It’s already operating, there’s several companies offering it. It sounds kind of complicated, but actually, I think it’s pretty simple. We’re offering more choices, and we’re offering an environmentally sustainable choice.”