‘Natural organic reduction,’ or human composting, now burial option in MN

Minnesotans will soon no longer need to leave the state to return their remains to nature by converting them into nutrient-rich soil As of July human composting also known as natural organic reduction is legal in the state But it likely will be another year before the process becomes available locally At least one company plans to open a facility in the Twin Cities metro by next summer Legalization of the process comes after a push at the state Capitol to allow the emerging green burial option which still at this time requires a trip to another state to complete That was the development for Steve Wheeler a longtime social studies professor at Mahtomedi High School who died in September after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer Wheeler who had multiple sclerosis started searching for burial options with his wife after learning he had a terminal evaluation He d kind of perpetually known that he didn t traditional burial and he didn t want cremation because those things are just so incredibly bad for the context declared Katie Wheeler Steve s wife He didn t want to leave you know such a large negative mark on the world on the conditions in his death Truly green option The couple had selected initial frustration finding what they felt was a truly green burial option Particular funeral homes allowed for the burial of un-embalmed bodies but still provided protective burial vaults something the Wheelers felt ran counter to a truly environmentally-friendly burial Vaults are typically made of inorganic materials like concrete Katie Wheeler and her husband Steve in a spring photo Steve Wheeler died of cancer in Sept and chose to have his remains turned into compost through a process known as natural organic reduction Courtesy of Katie Wheeler Eventually they discovered an ideal option human composting a process where a body is placed in a ventilated container with organic materials like alfalfa straw and sawdust and allowed to naturally decompose over days or so until it becomes soil Steve was excited about the option Katie stated but there was one trouble the practice was illegal in Minnesota Only a handful of states have legalized human composting as of Washington was the first to do so in The Wheelers eventually unveiled a way forward Mueller Memorial a White Bear Lake-based funeral home had not long ago started working with a provider of natural organic reductions in Washington Return Home in Auburn Wash a Seattle Suburb had a well-established operation and was able to accept remains from other states The process Other green burials which avoid embalming chemicals and use biodegradable caskets already are legal in Minnesota Human composting is a different newer process Green burial quite honestly has been has been around since people have died noted Scott Mueller funeral director and owner of Mueller Memorial Though in latest years more people have been seeking environmentally friendly burials he added People are really looking for more sustainable options in every way that they live and now they re looking at it in how they die as well Mueller commented So what happens when a body goes under natural organic reduction Remains are placed inside a vessel made of insulated plastic along with biodegradable materials The container is well ventilated and about twice the size of a refrigerator declared Mueller What then starts is a roughly -day process where the body naturally decomposes and becomes nutrient-rich dirt Airflow is pumped through the vessel which becomes warm to the touch as its temperature reaches around degrees Fahrenheit Mueller mentioned In natural organic reduction burials after initial decomposition takes place human remains are transferred to a second vessel for a curing process that lasts another days or so Family and friends can visit at any time during the process at Return Home a funeral home in Auburn Wash where specific Minnesotans' remains have gone for composting Courtesy of Scott Mueller Once the temperature decreases it s a sign that the primary decomposition is complete Remaining bones are pulverized and mixed with the compost which is then put in another vessel and allowed to sit for another days or so The compost continues to produce heat at this point Mueller noted and the vessel s temperature can reach degrees Mueller declared he visited a site where bodies were undergoing the composting process and there was no hint of the scent of decay or decomposition Instead the facility had the smell of earth Families are free to visit during the process and the funeral home provides live streams of the containers After around or days all that remains is to pounds of compost Families have the option of receiving all the compost in about a dozen bags distributing it in a woodland area managed by Return Home in Washington or keeping specific of the compost Katie Wheeler decided to keep about pounds of her husband s compost At first she kept the bag at home Last summer she spread chosen at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis one of Steve s favorite places and used it to plant two trees She still has two or three pounds left Steve Wheeler desired to testify before the Legislature to advocate for legalizing natural organic reduction and recorded a video outlining his reasons for choosing the process With this act I can at least go out on a high note and say I have left the world just a little bit better than when I unveiled it he mentioned Bill passed last year State lawmakers passed a bill legalizing natural organic reduction during the legislative session and it went into effect this July The Minnesota Funeral Directors Association had initially opposed the bill because it had concerns about unlicensed and untrained people performing natural organic reduction In testimony on the bill in the association commented it had concerns about wellbeing safety and dignity Lawmakers addressed their concerns about human composting by including licensing requirements in the bill according to Funeral Directors Association Executive Director Miki Tufto The association is totally in assistance of options for disposition for families in Minnesota she stated The Minnesota Catholic Conference testified against legalizing human composting at a House hearing They raised concerns about dignity and compared the practice to treating human remains like fertilizer Mueller himself a Catholic mentioned he believes views will shift over time The Catholic Church opposed cremation until but now allows for remains to be burned though with a strong preference for the burying of ashes Mueller Memorial has sent seven bodies from Minnesota to Washington since it started working with Return Home About bodies have undergone composting at the facility since it first opened earlier this decade Natural organic reduction costs around to It s more expensive to fly remains out of state Return Home for instance charges a base rate of about and more for transporting remains from out of state 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