Colorado Set to Legalize Human Composting to Turn Corpses to Soil
Flags have been erected and two trees recently watered at a pair graves in the Memory Gardens Cemetery and Memorial Park which lies neglected and in foreclosure on July 31, 2009 north of El Centro, California. Business and home owners have been hit hard with foreclosure in the El Centro area. David McNew/Getty Images

The state of Colorado is just a couple of votes and one signature away from offering its people the option to turn their human bodies into pounds of soil after death.

Based on the Centennial State's bill that has already passed one legislative chamber, it would legalize human composting to give people an option for the "natural reduction" burying method.

According to The Independent, the said process involves a body being placed inside a cradle then into a vessel over a bed of alfalfa, wood chips, and straw.

After removing non-organic materials such as prosthetic implants, the body would stay inside a greenhouse-like facility for a span of 30 days as it transforms into soil. When the process is complete, a body could create one cubic yard or several hundred pounds of soil.

According to experts, the process of human composting is more environmentally friendly compared to conventional burial or cremation. They said it only uses one-eighth of the energy of a traditional cremation.

However, the state would not allow the soil to be used to grow food for human consumption. Colorado would also prohibit the selling of the soil and combining the soil of multiple individuals without consent, New York Post reported.

Colorado will become the second state to legalize human composting if the bill passes, next to Washington.

Catholic Church Questions Human Composting

Democratic Senator Robert Rodriguez of Denver, one of the bill's sponsors, said it is an innovative idea in a state that prides itself on natural beauty and opportunities.

Raised as a Catholic, Rodriguez noted that it is not necessarily something that he might want to do for himself, but he believes that people in Colorado should have a choice.

Rodriguez and the other sponsors on the bill, namely Democratic Representative Brianna Titone of Arvada and GOP Representative Matt Soper of Delta, shared that they have heard a lot from individuals who are excited about human composting.

The SB21-006 seems familiar to many Colorado residents as it did not make it through the session last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That's why the bill's sponsors decided to bring it back.

Some Colorado residents were about to start a petition about legalizing human composting after what they have witnessed in Washington state. But they were glad to find out that some lawmakers were already working on it.

Some post-death businesses are also excited to get involved in the new process, while others are still holding out for more specifics.

Olinger Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery-Crown Hill told The Post that the company needs to learn more. But it believes in the importance of offering choices to people, Canon City Daily Record reported.

On the other hand, the Colorado Catholic Conference opposes human composting because it contradicts the church's teaching that the human body is sacred and "the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral society."

It added that more research is needed on what the practices would do for health and safety.

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