‘Back to the earth’: Human composting offers families an eco-friendly death care option for loved ones

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Jacqueline Reis Messina died of lung cancer in September 2023. But she lives on as soil nourishing the plants around her daughter Jayme Strasburger’s New Jersey home.

When Strasburger realized the end was approaching, her family started to think about how to honor the matriarch after death.

“It’s a hard subject,” Strasburger said. “She didn’t have any after-death plans because she didn’t want to die. And nobody wants to talk about death. But it’s a real subject and it’s important to have those conversations.”

Strasburger rejected the typical options of burial and cremation for death care. She said she wanted to be physically closer to her mother instead of visiting her out at a cemetery. And Reis Messina was scared of fire and didn’t want to be cremated.

Then the family found an option few have ever heard of: human composting.

“I said, ‘Would you like that?’” Strasburger asked. “And she goes, ‘So you can make me a tree? A magnolia tree like the one in your backyard?’ And I said, ‘absolutely.’”

Human composting is an emerging industry, legal in only a small percentage of states. Supporters say it’s better for the Earth than traditional options like burial and cremation.

“Burial can require interment of nondegradable materials like metal and concrete,” said Haley Morris, spokesperson for Earth Funeral, which has composting facilities in Washington and Nevada. “Embalming fluid has carcinogens and then cremation relies on fossil fuels. Each cremation emits the equivalent of a 600-mile car trip.”

Human composting

Human composting is also known as terramation or natural organic reduction. It transforms people into soil after they die. The process uses heat and organic material like alfalfa, flowers and sawdust to help break down the body. It takes about 30 to 60 days.

Many human composting companies are based in Washington, which was the first state to legalize natural organic reduction. Thirteen states currently allow human composting.

Strasburger and her family contacted terramation company Return Home to compost Reis Messina after she died.

Some of the businesses, like Return Home, offer services for loved ones to say their farewells in person or virtually. Strasburger and her husband flew to the facility for her mother’s laying-in ceremony, joining family who live there. There was also a Zoom livestream set up for those not able to attend the service in person.

An intimate experience

Strasburger and her family were able to help prepare her mother for what’s called a pod, a customized container designed to mimic what happens in nature, but at an accelerated pace. She said the family’s interaction with preparing the body would likely be taboo at conventional funeral homes.

“Why can’t we be part of the death process?” she asked. “Why does it have to be such a dark thing? It’s not. It’s beautiful, and it should be respected and embraced because by doing so, you open your heart to it.”

Return CEO Micah Truman said death is not a subject they shy away from, encouraging families to interact with their loved ones being put to rest.

“It’s hard because we’re talking about dying, and people don’t want to do that in America,” he said. “Somehow we believe if we don’t talk about it, it might not happen, and it does every time.”

Strasburger said she was allowed to wash her mother’s body, help dress her in a biodegradable shroud and apply her makeup before Reis Messina was placed in the vessel. Family members filled the container with pictures, letters and chocolate. Strasburger said she added her mother’s tiara, champagne and magnolia flowers.

Truman said people are seeking more choices than burial or cremation.

“I think regardless of our political persuasion or age or race or geography, we want to kind of go back to the earth when we die gently,” he said. “It’s just we’ve never been given the option.”

The composting process Return Home uses yields about 250 pounds of soil. Families can take all or some of the soil that’s produced. Some chose to donate it to the companies. Earth Funeral uses donated soil to reforest land devastated by wildfire and overlogging.

Strasburger said she wanted all of her mother back. She uses it to grow sunflowers, her mom’s favorite flower. She is waiting until spring to plant a magnolia tree in her front yard with the soil in honor of her. Strasburger has also scattered the soil in a rose garden in Madrid, Spain, and plans to bring some with her on a vacation to Italy.

States legalizing human composting

Delaware just legalized human composting last year and state rules regulating the practice were finalized in June. Currently, people in states where it’s not yet legal, like New Jersey, have to drive or fly their deceased family members to the few states with the facilities.

Andrew Parsell is a Delaware funeral director and heads the state’s Board of Funeral Services. He said people who want a green funeral to reduce their carbon footprint can be reluctant to choose human composting because of the greenhouse gases associated with air travel.

Parsell said as companies open in additional states, such as Delaware, it will become more popular and environmentally friendly.

“I think as a local facility becomes available, demand will increase,” he said. “There’s definitely some demand out there now, but I think it’ll definitely increase in the future.”

Truman said he sees this emerging industry as a generational shift in death care.

“I think it’s really important that we have something that is both ecological-sensible and really heartfelt,” he said. “I think that it’s going to be a very big move going forward.”

New Jersey lawmakers passed legislation legalizing human composting in the state. It’s awaiting action by Gov. Phil Murphy. A spokesperson with his office would not say if he planned to sign it or if he supported the concept.

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.