One of the newest options for body disposition to become legal in the US with an incredibly low environmental impact is Natural Organic Reduction, or NOR (also known as “body composting”). NOR was first developed for humans by Katrina Spade of Recompose, and began as a way for people living in urban areas to have access to more natural and eco-friendly disposition options. It allows city dwellers a greener option than traditional burial or flame cremation, without having to transport a body miles outside of a city to a conservation or green burial cemetery.
First legalized in the US in Washington State in 2019, NOR is now available in Oregon, Vermont, and Colorado, and legislation is currently in the works to make it a legal disposition method in other states as well. Though this disposition method is still an outlier in the disposition arena, it is quickly gaining traction and popularity. The incredibly low environmental impact of Natural Organic Reduction is directly meeting the needs of death planners today and tomorrow, as we see more people are consistently searching for eco-friendly alternatives in death planning.
What is NOR?
The Natural Organic Reduction process entails speeding up the natural decomposition process that would happen in a green burial setting, and returning the resulting compost material to the deceased person’s family. There are a few different facilities in each state that has legalized NOR, and each facility has their own take on the process.
The low environmental impact Natural Organic Reduction cycle requires wrapping the deceased in a biodegradable shroud and then placing them in an NOR vessel along with organic materials that could include buckwheat, woodchips, wildflowers, straw, and sawdust. The vessel is closed, and then the naturally occurring microbes in the organic matter do their job breaking down the body. The process naturally creates heat, and some facilities help the process along by slightly elevating the temperature and controlling airflow through the vessel, as the microbes require oxygen to work. basically the same way that they would in a garden or green cemetery. This process takes between 30 and 40 days.
Afterward, if bone matter hasn’t broken down completely, it’s ground down using the same machine that is used after cremation, then returned and mixed into the rest of the decomposed matter. Then, the compost is left to rest and cool in a container. By the end of the process, the deceased has undergone a complete molecular change. No human DNA can be found in the compost, and soil from Recompose specifically has been thoroughly tested for toxins, pollutants, and heavy metals. The resulting findings fell well below EPA level requirements which means that soil from human composting is safe for the environment and poses no land pollution impact.
After the process is done, the compost soil is returned to the family. The process creates about a cubic yard of compost (enough to fill a small truck bed) that can be spread in any garden, forest, or outdoor area. Recompose specifically has a program for families that can’t use the whole amount of their loved one’s compost. The company donates compost soil from their process to Bells Mountain, which comprises 700 acres of conservation land in south Washington.
The Eco-Impact of NOR
According to an article about NOR from Talk Death, it’s likely that Natural Organic Reduction is at or close to carbon neutrality as a form of human disposition. The article states that, “Natural organic reduction is an alternative to conventional burial and cremation that offers less of an environmental impact. In general, it avoids direct use of fossil fuels like in cremation and takes up less space than conventional burial. It also avoids the use of materials like concrete and non-biodegradable caskets often used in conventional burial. Although independent studies still need to be conducted, industry leaders suggest that natural organic reduction is at least carbon neutral in its effect on the environment, and in some estimations prevents one metric ton of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. We should however consider the carbon footprint that indoor human composting facilities require to operate in large warehouses.”
Since the soil from human composting doesn’t contain human DNA anymore, and doesn’t contain significant levels of toxins or heavy metals, NOR poses no threat of land consumption, pollution or toxicity. This video about Recompose’s facility and process outlines how the company tests their compost soil for fecal coliform, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium, which all consistently meet guidelines set by the state of Washington. In fact, compost is not only free from heavy metals and harmful toxins, but is chock full of healthy nutrients for soil and plant life. Compost from the human NOR process is good for the environment in which it is spread, and helps enrich soil for vegetation and animals.
Additionally, in an interview with the Deathcare Decoded podcast, Brie Smith, Services Manager at Return Home shared some research about electricity and energy consumption and NOR. Their research revealed that the energy usage of one NOR process is about 1/8th of the energy/fuel consumption of one cremation. Brie explains, “I wanted to get the energy numbers for our process because I want to be able to tell people exactly what is happening during NOR. We have averaged out each vessel across our electricity bill and have found that our usage is about 1/8th of what the energy usage of a cremation is. And what is remarkable is that a cremation uses that much energy in 90 minutes, and our process takes 30 days. So there is a big difference in energy consumption there.”
To put that into context, one cremation takes about 90 minutes, and NOR is a process that can take over 30 days. Putting this comparison in the terms of the research we’ve looked at from CANA, if one 90 minute cremation uses 2,379,915 BTU’s of energy, or what it takes to power a 3 br home for one week, or an entire 20 gallon tank of gas in an average sized sedan, then the entire 30 day NOR process uses 297,489 BTU’s or the same amount of electricity it takes to power a 2 br home for about 19 hours, or 2.5 gallons of gas in a car.
Research from Recompose
Recompose has done extensive research on the environmental impact of NOR, as the company’s founder and CEO, Katrina Spade, was instrumental in the legislation that led to NOR’s initial legalization back in 2019.
The research from Recompose goes beyond fossil fuel and electricity usage and takes into account the fact that NOR saves valuable resources and materials usage because it doesn’t require the use of a casket, embalming chemicals, or land use. The process also naturally sequesters carbon and prevents it from being released into the atmosphere, with scientific research performed by Dr. Troy Hottle revealed that NOR can save up to 1.4 metric tons of carbon when compared to traditional burial. Recompose’s website explains that,
“For every person who chooses Recompose over conventional burial or cremation, one metric ton of carbon dioxide is prevented from entering the atmosphere. In addition, our approach to human composting requires 1/8 the energy of conventional burial or cremation. Recompose allows you to choose an end-of-life option that strengthens the environment rather than depleting it”
Human composting is a more environmentally-friendly option than burial or cremation. This is because the process does not use fossil gas like cremation, does not require the casket and cemetery resources of burial, and sequesters carbon as soil is created.
To measure the environmental impact of human composting, expert Dr. Troy Hottle developed a scientific model to compare cremation, conventional burial, green burial, and human composting. The model showed that human composting and green burial perform far better than cremation or conventional burial at reducing carbon. The research showed that between .84 and 1.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide will be saved each time someone chooses human composting.
Human composting saves carbon through a combination of factors. The process uses much less energy than cremation, which uses fossil gas to create heat of over 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit. When human composting transforms the organic material of our bodies, carbon is also sequestered in the soil created. Rather than being released as carbon dioxide gas through exhaust during a cremation, the carbon matter contained in each body returns to the earth.”
NOR and Metals
One of the major advantages of Alkaline Hydrolysis, and even flame cremation, is the ability to recycle metals from the body after the process. As we’ve seen, metals recycling after death can greatly offset the environmental impact of the disposition process. However, while we do know that some larger metals like medical implants are recycled after the NOR process, there isn’t sufficient research to show exactly how much of an offset metals recycling provides for this specific disposition method. Even considering this, the environmental impact of Natural Organic Reduction is extremely low.
When it comes to NOR, large pieces of metal can be extracted and recycled, but there is also an inherent benefit to the process that keeps smaller metals in the body from causing pollution to the environment. The process of body composting actually helps to break down heavy metals in a way that keeps them stable, meaning that harmful off-gassing and seepage doesn’t happen. According to research from Washington State University conducted for HB2574, the bill that legalized NOR in Washington state,
“NOR helps to ensure that mercury remains stabilized in the soil, rather than being volatilized. (Volatilized mercury from cremation accounts for a significant amount of mercury released into the atmosphere.) Research completed by WSU showed that heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, copper, zinc, lead, and mercury, were all well under EPA limits.”
Availability and Legislation
Natural Organic Reduction was designed specifically with reducing the environmental impact of disposition and meeting the needs of urban-dwelling, eco-conscious families in mind. Even though NOR is being received by the public with overwhelming positivity, the process is slow to become legal in more states (much like Alkaline Hydrolysis). The stagnation of the legislative process can be frustrating, especially since this disposition method has nearly no impact on the environment, and would meet the needs of so many of today’s environmentally conscious death planning families.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can work with current NOR providers in states where the process is legal, reach out and start the conversation today. To learn more about current legislation for NOR and how to advocate for legalization of the process in your area for your families, click below to download the free ebook, The Real Eco-Impact of Disposition Methods:
