On December 31, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill permitting a relatively new method of final disposition of human remains, known as natural organic reduction, or human composting. New York became the sixth state to legalize this method of disposition.

In human composting, the decedent’s remains are placed in a container, to which microbes and oxygen are added, accelerating the decomposition process. “Terramation transforms a body into soil in 60 days. Nature does it, we do it much faster,” said Micah Truman, CEO of Return Home, a Washington State-based company that offers human composting services, in a telephone interview. Terramation is the company’s term for the disposition process.

At the end of the process, the remains are returned to the family, which may then bury, scatter, or otherwise use the soil as it wishes. Proponents such as Truman see human composting as a greener method of disposition that requires neither the land of burial, nor the fossil fuels used in cremation.

The Catholic Church, however, has been unequivocal in its opposition to the new disposition method. Only two disposition methods are approved for Catholics: burial of the body, or cremation, which also requires the burial of cremated remains or their placement in a mausoleum or niche.

Dennis Poust, executive director of the NYS Catholic Conference released the following statement following Gov. Hochul’s signing of the human composting bill:

“Throughout human history and in every culture, the disposition of human remains has followed a variety of rituals, but always involving interment or cremation. The process of composting is associated with the sustainable disposition of organic household or agricultural waste to be repurposed as fertilizer for gardens or crops. But human bodies are not household waste; they are vessels of the soul. Therefore, the Bishops of New York State do not believe the process meets the standard of reverent treatment of earthly remains.

“In the Catholic Church, preference remains for the burial of the body, with cremation and burial of the ashes as an acceptable and increasingly popular alternative. Just as Church teaching prohibits the scattering or dividing of cremated remains, it would not permit the spreading of composted human remains co-mingled with other organic matter to fertilize a garden.

“Given this fact, the bishops regret that Gov. Hochul has signed this legislation. For Catholics who share concerns regarding care for the environment, numerous Catholic and other cemeteries in New York offer green burial areas that do not involve embalming, concrete vaults, or traditional coffins. As noted, cremation and burial of the ashes is also a legitimate option for faithful Catholics.”

The Catholic Conference represents the Bishops of New York State in public policy matters.

Truman remains hopeful that the Church will one day evolve its view of human composting. “We are all about reverence and dignity for the body, and we are all about non-separation,” he said.