California legalizes composting human remains
California will begin offering the option of human composting after death thanks to a bill recently signed into law that aims to tackle climate change.
The bill bans the combining of various peoples' remains unless they are related.
But it does not make it illegal to sell the soil that results from the process or use it to grow food for human consumption.
AB 351 will provide an additional option for California residents that is more environmentally-friendly and gives them another choice for burial,’ Democratic Assembly member Cristina Garcia, the author of the bill, said in a statement.
With climate change and sea-level rise as very real threats to our environment, this is an alternative method of final disposition that won’t contribute emissions into our atmosphere.
‘I look forward to continuing my legacy to fight for clean air by using my reduced remains to plant a tree,’ she wrote, noting that she herself may choose the method when she passes away.