After death, surviving family members have an array of options to put their loved ones to rest. A traditional casket burial, cremation and even burial at sea. A new law could give families one more method to consider: human composting.

Anabel Sosa is a state politics intern for the LA Times, and she joined Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today” with more.

Sosa described what human composting entails.

“There are composting facilities in states where it’s already legal,” Sosa explained. “Essentially, a body would be taken to this facility and placed in a vault around 8 feet wide, 4 feet deep. The body would then be placed with alfalfa, woodchips and other biodegradable materials that would then expedite the composting process for a body. It takes about 30 days, give or take, for a body to decompose. The family would be given the soil and do what they will with it.”

Compared to cremation or traditional burials, human composting is less harmful to the environment.

“Traditional burials are expected to emit around 250 pounds of carbon, whereas human composting is expected to be one of the more eco-friendly alternatives,” Sosa said. “Another eco-friendly alternative, similar to human composting, would be green burial, which is where a body would be wrapped in a shroud. [The body is] still taking up a plot of land but is not buried in a casket. There is no embalming required and that’s expected to actually sequester around 25 pounds of carbon.” 

After writing about human composting, Sosa said she received reader feedback saying they were eager to investigate more eco-friendly options for burial. Besides being easier on the environment, these green burials are less expensive. The bill that would legalize human composting in California will be voted on this summer. 

“If California decides to pass AB 351, they will be voting on it when the legislature comes back from recess in August,” Sosa said. “California would be the fifth state in the U.S. to legalize human composting. There are two other states that are also considering this piece of legislation, New York and Massachusetts.” 

The National Funeral Directors Association is projecting that in 2040, just 13.5% of people who die in California will be buried through traditional burial, including green burials. 

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