Delaware state lawmakers consider bill to allow human composting

Delaware state lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow human composting as an alternative to burial or cremation after a person dies.

Democrats introduced the bill on Thursday and say it is an environmentally friendly alternative for cremation, The Associated Press reported.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) made Washington the first state to legalize human composting in 2019. The bill was passed with bipartisan support in Inslee’s state.

Human composting, or “natural organic reduction,” takes four weeks and is done by placing a dead person’s body with woodchips, straw and other materials while rotating the body every so often.

The process is similar to livestock composting and turns the person into an odorless soil that can then be given back to the family.

Oregon also recently introduced a similar bill, the AP noted.