“Compost Me When I Die”

“Compost Me When I Die” LIVESTOCK Miscellaneous Jason Detzel wants his body to be composted after he dies The livestock resource educator is an expert on composting livestock and sees no reason why his own body shouldn’t be composted too “I’ve written instructions for the handling of my body ” he says “There’s no rule against it in New York ” Detzel recently authored an article on the concept in OnPasture the online newsletter for intensive grazers www onpasture com In it he describes how he began to consider the idea of putting his body to use feeding plants and the soil That led to checking out the legality New York rules are simple “It’s legal to bury a person on your property if you keep the body away from water sources and notify the local government ” says Detzel He then went on to research options for those who don’t have access to private land He found two groups working on the idea of composting as an alternative to traditional burial or even cremation One was the Urban Death Project Seattle Wash Their concept includes placing the body in a biodegradable bag that is placed in a bed of wood chips or other carbon material at the top of a specially designed building Once the body has been converted to humus it could be used in city parks or gardens or family and friends could retrieve it for use in personal gardens and yards Currently the Urban Death Project founders are attempting to raise funds for a prototype building A 2015 crowdfunding effort raised more than $90 000 from more than 1 200 backers The design and engineering for the prototype building has been completed and 6 human bodies have been composted with the help of the Forensic Anthropology Department at Western Carolina University Capsula Mundi an Italian organization is also working on a system for composting the human body They have designed a biodegradable starch-based capsule to enclose the body in the fetal position The idea is for the egg-like structure to be buried in the soil and a tree planted above it They have begun production of a starch capsule for interring cremated remains The Capsula Mundi founders Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel told FARM SHOW “The Capsula for ashes is ready to go In a few weeks we’ll launch a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in order to also make the bigger Capsula for the body a reality ” Detzel questions if there would be sufficient carbon material for successful composting He suggests burying the capsule in a bed of carbon Detzel has laid out plans to get the ratio right for his own composting He wants to be sure it is done right He admits not everyone he knows is as enthused about the idea “My mother isn’t happy about it” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jason Detzel Cornell Cooperative Ulster County 232 Plaza Road Kingston N Y 12401 ph 518 567-4506; Jbd222@cornell edu

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