How does human composting work?

How does human composting work?

Up until recently, people in Australia had 2 options for what could happen to their remains after they died - either burial or cremation. But now there’s a third choice, after NSW became the first Australian jurisdiction to pass human composting laws last month. It means people in the state may soon be able to have their remains transformed into compost-like material, so in this Squiz Shortcut we’ll look at:

• How it works

• Why this is happening

• And whether it’s likely to become more common in other states and territories

And a warning at the top here that we’re going to be discussing some stuff that some listeners might find a bit grisly…

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Squiz the Shortcut

Take a step back. Why are we talking about human composting? 
What happens to your body after you die isn’t your typical dinner conversation, but it’s a topic that has been popping up a bit in the news lately, so we thought we’d take a closer look at one of the newer alternatives. Which brings us to human composting… 

Explain what human composting is…
It’s technically known as natural organic reduction, and legally it’s called ‘terramation’. It’s a process that uses microorganisms to transform human remains into a compost-like material.

How does that work?
First, the body gets washed, then wrapped up in a shroud and placed in a specially designed vessel or tub, which is packed full of organic plant material, like hay, wood chips and sawdust. These help make sure the vessel has enough moisture and airflow for the microorganisms to be able to break down the tissues. Loved ones can also add flowers, photos or other sentimental items into the vessel before it gets sealed shut.

And after it’s shut?
It then gets heated up to temperatures of between 55°C and 70°C, and the level of moisture and oxygen circulated through the vessel is controlled to the right levels to help the body and organic material to break down. Some of the vessels get rotated or rocked slightly to help speed things up a bit. It’d be done in special facilities. We don’t have any built yet - they’ll come after the regulations are finalised around the practice.

How long does it actually take?
Well it’s a bit of a process from there. After a month, most of the remains will have broken down, but certain things like dental implants or medical stuff like surgical screws or joint replacements have to be fished out, because these types of artificial materials can’t decompose. 

Are there any other things that can’t decompose? 
Any bones or teeth that haven’t broken down get taken out and ground down in something called a cremulator before being popped back into the mix. Both of these steps actually happen during the cremation process as well.

And how long until the body has fully broken down?
It takes around 2-3 months and produces approximately one cubic metre of compost-like material. And it’s actually packed full of nutrients. At this point, the compost material is packaged up and given back to the person’s family…

And what do families do with it? 
Well, they choose what happens to it - a bit like when people choose to scatter a loved one’s ashes. Some families scatter it around trees or donate it to parks, and others keep it to grow plants in their own gardens. 

Why has it taken off?
Over the past few years, there’s been growing concerns that in many cities and countries, we’re running out of space to bury people in cemeteries and graveyards… Some of our metropolitan cemeteries are expected to run out of burial space by the early 2030s. That’s not that far away. And there are also environmental concerns with the more traditional options of burial and cremation. 

Walk me through those…
Let’s start with burial. When you bury a body, you need a fair bit of material for a coffin - usually it’s wood. The body is often embalmed with preservative chemicals, and eventually, after the coffin’s been buried, these chemicals work their way into the soil. Bodies also release methane as they decompose, plus there’s also the environmental impact of maintaining cemeteries and graveyards over time.

And what about cremation? 
The high heat involved in cremating bodies actually uses a lot of fossil fuels and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. A cremation takes a couple of hours - and for the process to work, the crematorium needs to reach temperatures of between 760°C and 1150°C. That takes a lot of power…

How much power are we talking? 
The energy needed for a single cremation is the equivalent of the power an average person uses for an entire month. 

That’s a lot of energy… 
Yep, and the number of people dying each year is ticking upwards. Last year there were 188,421 registered deaths - but by 2050, the number of deaths each year is expected to climb to 300,000.

So people are looking for alternatives?
Exactly. Which brings us neatly back to what’s happened in New South Wales in the last few weeks. Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich had been looking into human composting as a way to tackle all of these issues, and introduced a private member’s bill to the NSW Parliament back in June this year, which called for human composting to be introduced in the state.

And that bill passed?
Yep. In an Australian first, it passed both houses unanimously. Politicians backed it because it doesn’t need a cemetery plot, which matters where cemetery space is running out, as well as for the environmental reasons we’ve mentioned and the cost of cremation and burial.

So is it available now?
Not quite. The NSW Government has 18 months to create regulations to control the practice, which would be limited to specialised facilities, so it’s unlikely that these services will be up and running before 2029. And we’re still waiting on some details - things like how much it would cost and where the human composting sites would be built. 

And what about in the rest of Oz? 
The ACT and Tasmania already have laws with broad definitions of ‘cremation’ that could, in theory, leave room for human composting, but neither jurisdiction has actually moved yet to allow it. It could potentially be on the cards in Western Oz too - in June, a petition was submitted to the state parliament calling for human composting to be recognised and regulated there. 

So what happens next?
We’ll be keeping an eye on how this progresses in NSW and potentially other parts of Australia, and we’ll keep you com-posted…

Onto our recommendations

Perusing: This visual piece by Bevan Shields from the Sydney Morning Herald on how human composting works. It’s one of those interactive online pieces with some super helpful graphics.

Watching: A TED talk from Katrina Spade - she started the world’s first human composting company in the US. 

Reading: This University of Melbourne piece looking at some of the other alternatives to burial and cremation.

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