Beyond our cultural differences, most countries in the world (especially in the West) tend to share something: we do not like to talk about death. Nothing. That is why it is curious that in New York part of the public attention take a while revolving around one of its great cemeteries, Green-Wooda 190-hectare cemetery founded in the 19th century. Even more striking is that Green-Wood does not it’s news for its infrastructure or logistics, but for the new service it wants to implement: the “natural organic reduction”also known as “terramation” or (more graphic) “human composting.” And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like: treating corpses so that they become human compost. It may sound strange or macabre, but its defenders they assure which is an alternative and much more “ecological” way to say goodbye to the world. Green-Wood Earrings. We mentioned it before. In a world accustomed to living with its back on death, it is not common to find cases like that of Green-Wood, a huge cemetery of almost 200 hectares located in the western part of Brooklyn that has been arousing public curiosity for weeks. Recently media like CBS News, New York Posts or even The Wall Street Journal They dedicated extensive reports to it due to the decision of its managers to bet on a new (and controversial) service: the “terramation”. Put that way, the term may not be understood very well, but that changes when you use its most common synonym: “human composting.” If everything goes according to plan and the New York State Cemetery Board gives it the green light, New York families will be able to do so there starting next year. They won’t be the first. The “terramation” has already some time available in other parts of the US and there are other countries that have also approved it, like sweden. Last (and ecological) goodbye. When a person dies, the most common thing is that their body ends up in a coffin and rests underground or in a pantheon. It is also common (increasingly) that the deceased leave a record of their wish to be cremated. Burials and cremations, however, are only two of the ways in which we can say goodbye to this world. During recent years there have been developed alternatives much less popular (and with a legal framework that is sometimes more complicated), but which generate increasing interest. For example the “ecological burials”in which we seek to reduce as much as possible the contaminating footprint of the funeral. As? Avoiding the use of chemicals for embalming or coffins made with non-biodegradable materials. The idea is simple: make it as easy as possible for nature. Another option is the “aquamation”a cremation method based on water and alkaline chemicals. one step further. The “human composting” system like the one Green-Wood wants to incorporate goes one step further. The corpses are placed in special containers in which the natural degradation process is accelerated. Thanks to a regulated flow of air, temperature and humidity, as well as organic material, the microbes do their job and the body decomposes in just a few weeks. “They remain in a capsule for 40 days, a time during which, thanks to a gentle rocking, it becomes earth,” clarify from Green-Wood. If remains such as bones remain after this process, they are treated separately to add them to the final result: a kind of human ‘compost’ that can then be distributed throughout a garden or in which, for example, a seed can be planted to remember the deceased. The same thing that many families do with ashes, only after a more natural and ecological process. At least that’s how its promoters defend it, they insist especially in its environmental sustainability. What advantages are those? The underlying philosophy is the same as that of “ecological burials”, in which embalming and coffins are usually dispensed with, but with an extra advantage: since there is no burial, it does not need the space that a traditional burial requires. And that is not a minor detail in cemeteries like Brooklyn. Cremation also has that advantage, but there are experts who warn of its ecological footprint: during incineration, certain toxins are released into the atmosphere, in addition to a notable amount of CO2. “A 2021 report indicates that the impact on the greenhouse effect of a cremation, taking into account electricity consumption, transportation and the resources used, as well as natural gas, is about 430 kg of CO2 equivalent,” note professors Sandra van der Laan and Lee Moerman in an article published in January in The Conversation. “According to the same report, each standard burial in Australia is responsible for the emission of about 780 kg of CO2 equivalent.” Environment… and something more. Beyond its greater or lesser attractiveness in ecological terms, “human composting” offers another great advantage: costs and space. three years ago Guardian already reported that the promoters of “terramation” in the US offered the service for $7,000, not very different from a traditional cremation or burial, although in the latter case another crucial cost is added to the embalming and coffin: that of the land. Plots in cemeteries are a scarce commodity and this translates into both a logistical and cost problem. “Burial is increasingly inaccessible for many. It is expensive and cemeteries are running out of space, especially in urban areas,” warn Sandra van der Laan and Lee Moerman. Its analysis focuses on Australia, but is transferable to other countries. A scarce and “valuable” resource. “While many Australian cemeteries now have a limited term of use for plots (25 years in most cases, renewable up to 99), the space is still valuable,” warn the experts. They are not the only ones who point out that handicap. In a report recent for TWSJ On Green-Wood, Tom Fairless recalled that the Brooklyn Cemetery is running out of space. A prospect that is unlikely to improve as the baby boom cohort ages, passes away, and creates greater demand for funeral services, … Read more
