We are all trying to live ‘greener’ and consider the impact we have on the environment. So, when it comes to your final contribution to the war against climate change, what are your choices? One solution gathering attention is terramation, also known as human composting. This involves the body being put into a special container along with a mixture of organic materials such as wood chips and straw to facilitate the decomposition process. Over the following weeks, temperature and humidity are carefully controlled to create the optimal environment for the natural breakdown of the body. After about 8 weeks all that is left is a pot of soil, which is given to the family to take home, a solution that might appeal to keen gardeners, knowing that they will be spread on their favourite roses or to avid walkers, knowing they will spend eternity along their favourite path.
Many consider this a more eco-friendly form of burial, compared to cremation. In her article for The Big Issue, climate reporter Michele Theil writes, “Each cremated body releases around 250kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, almost equivalent to emissions released on a flight from London to Rome.”
The idea of human composting is gathering fans from all over the world, but it’s not necessarily easy to do just yet, certainly not in this country where it remains illegal. In contrast, several states in the USA have approved human composting and the movement is likely to spread across the continent. With over 500,000 deaths in the UK each year, traditional forms of body disposal leave a massive carbon footprint and as we consider our final impact on the planet, terramation might just be the answer.
More details can be found at www.terramation.uk, an independent information resource for those interested in terramation.