Compost Yourself
A New Way To Push Up The Daisies
By Mark Kuhl
For the GPHN
Here in Colorado you have a new choice on what to do with your body in the end.
Gov. Jared Polis recently signed House Bill 21-006 into law, making Colorado the second state to allow human bodies to be reduced to soil when they die. Natural organic reduction is how some describe it, but it’s essentially composting. The state of Washington was first and several others are also moving in this direction.
It may take funeral homes some time to accommodate you so please don’t rush out for this amazing service. The Natural Funeral in Lafayette already offers green burials, which involve no embalmed bodies with toxic chemicals, no fiberglass or plastic grave liners and only biodegradable materials used in the burial plot.
Composting a body takes 30 days in a vessel prepared with wood chips, straw, and other organic materials. Choices will be available as to where the nutrient-rich soil is used, although the law prohibits mixing soil from multiple people without permission. Nor is the soil allowed to be used to grow food for human consumption or to be sold. This practice in Washington typically costs as much as cremation but uses one-eighth the energy.
In the end it’s a personal choice on what to do with your body and this new option will likely be chosen by many who wish to “tread lightly” even after they die.
Mark Kuhl is an environmental advocate who lives in Park Hill with his family. His handy tips and news about recycling household items appear every month in these pages. A directory of his past columns for recycling everything from paint to Styrofoam to shoes is at greaterparkhill.org/sustainability/recycling-directory/.