Human composting may soon be a legal alternative to burial and cremation for residents in Washington state, depending upon a bill slated for vote in late January.

Human composting, also called recomposition, breaks down human remains in soil. According to experts, it would sustain the soil, helping to grow trees and other vegetation.

The process places unembalmed human remains in a composting chamber to decompose surrounded by organic materials, including straw and woodchips. Occasionally, air pulls into the chamber to hasten the process, encouraging microbes to move faster. After one month, what is left is typically one cubic yard of compost.

Traditionally, burial and cremation are the options most exercised by those making decisions about their loved one's remains. Yet, burial involves harmful products like embalming liquid, while cremation often requires fossil fuel use.

Conversely, human composting uses one-eighth of the energy of cremation and saves over one metric ton of carbon dioxide per person, according to a report from human composting company Recompose. That report also states that human composting is a safe alternative to burial and cremation.

Calling the potential legislation historic, as Washington state would be the first in the nation to allow human composting, Democratic state senator Jamie Pedersen is an advocate for human composting and is sponsoring the bill.

“It’s amazing to me that in the year 2019, we still have only two ways of disposing of bodies, and those are ways we’ve used for centuries,” Pedersen said. “In all other ways, technology is changing everything.”

The bill comes at a time when attitudes about funerals and death are being re-examined against environmental impact, with over 50% of respondents expressing an interest in green funeral services, according to a 2017 National Funeral Directors Association survey.

If passed, the bill will also allow residents of Washington to use the process of alkaline hydrolysis, otherwise known as water cremation, to break down the human body with a combination of lye and water, turning human remains into dust. Alkaline hydrolysis is already permitted in 15 other states.

Despite the religious arguments that a bill on human composting is likely to invite, Pedersen is confident the bill will pass. The legislature is expected to reconvene later in January.