First Human-composting Funeral Home in U.S. Now Open

Recompose, the first human-composting funeral home in the U.S., is now open for business
By Brendan Kiley | January 22nd, 2021 6:00 AM

Brendan Kiley wrote:Somewhere in Kent, tucked anonymously into acres of warehouses and light-industrial workshops, the first full-service human-composting funeral home in the United States is operational.

After nearly a decade of planning, research and fundraising — not to mention a successful campaign to change state law — Recompose is finally converting people into soil.

Outside, the entrance to Recompose looks like most of its neighbors — just another unit in a tall, almost block-sized building with plain metal siding and big, roll-up warehouse doors. But inside, it feels like an environmentalist’s version of a sleek, futuristic spaceship: spare, calm, utilitarian, with silvery ductwork above, a few soil-working tools (shovels, rakes, pitchforks) on racks, bags of tightly packaged straw neatly stacked on shelves, fern-green walls, potted plants of various sizes.

One immense object dominates the space, looking like an enormous fragment of white honeycomb. These are Recompose’s 10 “vessels,” each a hexagon enclosing a steel cylinder full of soil. One day in mid-January, eight decedents were already inside eight vessels, undergoing the process of natural organic reduction (NOR) or, more colloquially, human composting.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE AT THE SEATTLE TIMES.


At Recompose, “vessels” full of soil undergo the process of natural organic reduction (NOR) or, more colloquially, human composting. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times).

Fascinating, and much more technical I suspect than the article states.  Just 60 days from corpse to soil!

Yeah, technical indeed. Check out the Washington State University bio of their team's soil scientist Lynn Carpenter-Boggs:

Education
B.S. Biophysical Environmental Studies, 1991, Northland College, Ashland, WI
M.S. Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry, 1994, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Ph.D. Soil Science, 1997, Washington State University
Research

Most of my projects are collaborative with other researchers and inspiring growers. We focus on 1). Biologically improving crop and soil health, and 2) Sustainable use of agricultural by-products. Learn about Biologically-Intensive Agriculture and Organic Farming (BIOAg) for Sustainability here.

Improving Human Health by Reducing Arsenic in Food Legumes

   Accelerated Program for Low Arsenic Intake (APLAI)

Organic and Alternative Agriculture

   Organic production: nutrient supply, carbon footprint, soil biology
   Biodynamic farming and preparations
   Organic registered herbicides

Compost and Compost Teas

   Composting unusual byproducts such as livestock carcasses and mint distillery waste
   Compost teas for nutrient supply and pathogen antagonism

Other Methods and Technologies to Improve Production Sustainability

   Mob grazing
   Food grade winter peas
   Cover crops and green manures

Recent Publications (select examples, last five years)

McFarland, C., S. Shiwakoti, L. Carpenter‐Boggs, K. Schroeder, T. Brown, and D.R. Huggins. 2020. Evaluating buffer methods for determining lime requirement on acidified agricultural soils of the Palouse. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 84:1769-1781.

Wieme, R., J.P. Reganold, D.W. Crowder, K.M. Murphy, and L. Carpenter-Boggs. 2020. Productivity and soil quality of organic forage, quinoa, and grain cropping systems in the dryland Pacific Northwest, USA. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment. 293:106838.

Wieme, R., J.P. Reganold, D.W. Crowder, K.M. Murphy, and L. Carpenter-Boggs. 2020. Agronomic and economic performance of organic forage, quinoa, and grain crop rotations in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest, USA. Agricultural Systems. 177:102709.

Wachter, J.M., K.M. Painter, L. Carpenter-Boggs, D.R. Huggins, and J.P. Reganold. 2019. Productivity, economic performance, and soil quality of conventional, mixed, and organic dryland farming systems in eastern Washington State. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 286, p.106665.

Adewale, C., J.P. Reganold, S. Higgins, D. Evans, L. Carpenter-Boggs. 2019. Agricultural Carbon Footprint Is Farm Specific: Case Study of Two Organic Farms. Journal of Cleaner Production. 229:795-805.

Alam, M.Z., R. McGee, M.A. Hoque, G.J. Ahammed, L. Carpenter-Boggs. 2019. Effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Selenium and Biochar on Photosynthetic Pigments and Antioxidant Enzyme Activity Under Arsenic Stress in Mung Bean (Vigna radiata). Frontiers in Physiology. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00193 (1, 5, 6)

Alam, M.Z., M.A. Hoque, G.J. Ahammed, and L. Carpenter-Boggs. 2019. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi reduce arsenic uptake and improve plant growth in Lens culinaris. PloS one, 14:e0211441.

Smith, K., L. Carpenter-Boggs, D. McMoran, M. Ostrom. 2019. Connecting New Farmers to Place, Agroecology and Community through a Bilingual Organic Farm Incubator. 9:1-14. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 9(A), 111-124

Blubaugh, C.K., L. Carpenter-Boggs, J.P. Reganold, R.N. Schaeffer, and W.E. Snyder. 2018. Bacteria and Competing Herbivores Weaken Top–Down and Bottom–Up Aphid Suppression. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2018:9.

Adewale, C., J.P. Reganold, S. Higgins, D. Evans, and L. Carpenter-Boggs. 2018. Improving carbon footprinting of agricultural systems: Boundaries, tiers, and organic farming. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 71:41-48.

Biabani, A., L. Carpenter-Boggs, A. Gholizadeh, M. Vafaie-Tabar, and M.O Omara. 2018. Reproduction efficiency of Eisenia foetida and substrate changes during vermicomposting of organic materials. Compost Science & Utilization. DOI: 10.1080/1065657X.2018.1463877

Alam, Z.M., L. Carpenter-Boggs, A. Rahman, M.M. Haque, M.R.U. Miah, M. Moniruzzaman, M.A. Qayume, and H.M. Abdullah. 2017. Water Quality and Resident Perceptions of Declining Ecosystem Services at Shitalakkah Wetland in Narayangonj City. Sustainability of Water Quality and Ecology doi.org/10.1016/j.swaqe.2017.03.002

Carlson, B.R., L. Carpenter-Boggs S. Higgins, R. Nelson, C.O. Stöckle, and J. Weddell. 2017. Development of a web application for estimating carbon footprints of organic farms. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 142: 211-223.

Adewale C., L. Carpenter-Boggs, U.E. Zaher, S.S. Higgins, and D.M. Granatstein. 2016. Identifying hotspots in the carbon footprint of a small scale organic vegetable farm. Agricultural Systems 149:112-121.

Shrewsbury, L.H., J.L. Smith, D.R. Huggins, L. Carpenter-Boggs, and K. Reardon. 2016. Denitrifier population abundance influences soil denitrification rates in topographically diverse field scale agricultural landscape. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 103:221-231.

Paudel, B., S. Higgins, L. Carpenter-Boggs. 2016. Influence of brassicaceous soil amendments on potentially beneficial and pathogenic soil microorganisms and seedling growth in Douglas-fir nurseries. Applied Soil Ecology 105:91-100.

Walters, H., L.A. Carpenter-Boggs, K. Desta, L. Yan, G.J. Matanguihan, and K. Murphy. 2016. Effect of irrigation, intercrop and cultivar on agronomic and nutritional characteristics of quinoa. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 40:783-803.

Morrow, J., L. Carpenter-Boggs, J.P. Reganold, and D. Huggins. 2016. Evaluating Measures of Soil C and N to Assess Soil Health in Long-term Agroecosystem Trials of the Inland Pacific Northwest. Soil Science Society of America 80:450-462

Source: https://css.wsu.edu/people/faculty/lynne-carpenter-boggs/

This is so exciting! I sure hope it goes well and others follow suit. What better way to give back to the Earth than with our entire bodies, and in such a short amount of time!