SACRAMENTO _ In California, death could soon get a little greener.
California lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow for human remains to be composted into soil, a process called "natural organic reduction," with the end result being a nutrient-dense soil "that can be returned to families or donated to conservation land," according to a statement from bill sponsor Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, a Democrat.
"This service will provide an additional option for California residents that is more environmentally friendly and gives them another choice for burial," Garcia said in a statement. "With climate change and sea-level rise as very real threats to our environment, this is an alternative method of final disposition that won't contribute emissions into our atmosphere."
The process is greener than burial or cremation, Garcia's office said, and for each person who chooses composting over the other options, the process saves the equivalent of one metric ton of carbon from entering the environment.
Washington State in May became the first state to legalize human composting when Gov. Jay Inslee signed a law that passed its Legislature with overwhelming majorities. Until then, Washington State had allowed only cremation and burial.
If every Californian chose composting as their after-death preference, "we would save nearly 2.5 million metric tons of CO2 in just 10 years," according to Garcia's office.
"That's carbon-savings equivalent of the energy required to power 225,000 homes for one year or the letting 65 million seedlings grow into trees over 10 years," Garcia's office said.
