Oregon Legalizes, Human Composting.
'Newsweek' reports that it's now legal to be turned into compost after you die in Oregon.
On June 15, Governor Kate Brown signed House Bill 2574 into law, adding natural organic reduction as an option for aftercare.
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The bill defines natural organic reduction as , "the contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to soil.".
The law takes effect in July 2022.
The practice is currently only allowed in two other states.
Washington state was the first to allow such burials, followed by Colorado.
The first facility accepting human bodies for composting, Recompose, opened in Seattle in December 2020.
The environmental impacts of conventional burial and cremation are profound, Recompose, via 'Newsweek'.
In the United States, cemeteries take up 1 million acres of land, and caskets use 4 million acres of forest every year, Recompose, via 'Newsweek'.
Human composting saves a metric ton of carbon dioxide per body when compared to conventional burial or cremation, Recompose, via 'Newsweek'.
New York and California have both proposed bills which would legalize natural organic reduction if passed.