Human composting just got more headlines because New York State made it legally possible. It was only the sixth in America, but it is usually in New York that weirdness becomes a trend. When Rachel Gerbending, a former avid gardener, found out that dead people could be composted, she told her mother, “That would be great for me-I could walk around the garden and say, ‘Oh, hi, Mom.
Since this is New York City, there were articles in the media about “natural organic reduction,” as it’s technically called, even before the decision was made. In the fall, Gerbanding told technology magazine The Verge about her experience, and Caitlin Doughty, author of three books on burial, wrote on the New York Times opinion page that “human composting technology gives our dead a chance to become nutrient-rich soil that can be used to plant trees and reforest.” And in November, CNN reported that proponents of composting hope it will help slow the climate crisis.
