LAFAYETTE, COLORADO — Body composting could become a ‘green’ alternative to burial or cremation after Colorado became the second state after Washington to allow the process last week, according to The Associated Press.
One beneficiary of the new law, the Natural Funeral company, uses boxes lined with waterproof roofing material and packed with wood chips and straw, but relies mostly on billions of microbial organisms already inside the body to initiate decomposition.
This method has two advantages over conventional methods: First, it takes up less space, and second, it doesn’t burn fossil fuels that can contribute to climate change,or release mercury-based fumes into the atmosphere.