Is human composting coming to R.I. soon? – The Boston Globe

PROVIDENCE — Rhode Islanders now have two main options when they die: traditional burial or cremation. But on the Rhode Island Report podcast, state Representative Michelle E. McGaw, a Portsmouth Democrat, detailed a third option: natural organic reduction of dead bodies, or human composting.

“I see this as a greener alternative,” McGaw said, explaining that traditional burial involves toxic chemicals and takes up increasingly scare open space, while cremation involves fossil fuels and produces significant carbon emissions. “For somebody who’s lived their life trying to foster the planet and the Earth around them,” she said, “this provides them with a different option.”

How does it work?

“The body, after death, is put into a large vessel and you add nutrients,” McGaw said. “So you might add some woodchips or some straw and some microbes, and it’s placed into the vessel. It’s sealed up and over time it decomposes similar to what would happen in the Earth, but it just happens at a faster rate.”

You end up with about a cubic yard of soil, she said.

In June, the House voted 51 to 21 for McGaw’s bill to legalize human composting in Rhode Island. The bill drew vehement opposition, enthusiastic support, and more than a few questions from perplexed legislators. While it passed in the House, the legislation never came to a vote in the Senate.

During the House debate, Representative Charlene M. Lima, a Cranston Democrat, opposed the bill, saying, “You will be sending a clear philosophical and religious message to your constituents on the value you place on human remains. You will be telling everyone that you, in this House view human remains as nothing more than any other form of refuge that we discard daily.”

On the podcast, McGaw said her response is that the state contains a diversity of religious beliefs. “And so while I respect her concerns and her religious values, I also understand that not everyone in Rhode Island shares the values that she has,” she said. “I also see this as a way to ultimately respect a person’s wishes when they pass.”

The bill drew support from legislators such as Representative Camille F.J. Vella-Wilkinson, a Warwick Democrat.

“We are not talking about turning people into ‘Soylent Green,’” Vella-Wilkinson said on the House floor. “We’re talking about people having a choice. This says to Rhode Island that your legislators really are willing to think outside of the box. “

McGaw said, “In a lot of my conversations with my colleagues, they were very receptive to the idea of just allowing their constituents to have an alternative.”

If the bill had become law, Rhode Island would have been the ninth state to allow human composting, she said. She plans to introduce the legislation again next year.

“I think we need to listen to our constituents and be responsive to the types of choices they’re looking for,” McGaw said. “We’re going to start seeing this across the country.”

She said some funeral homes have suggested she broaden the proposal to include alkaline hydrolysis, which she described as a water cremation process. Legislation introduced in Massachusetts has included both human composting and alkaline hydrolysis.

McGaw said she isn’t just introducing the legislation — she’s hoping to use the process herself.

“My husband and I have discussed this,” she said. “We are both avid fans and would love for this to be available to us when we pass.”

To get the latest episode each week, follow Rhode Island Report podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcasting platforms, or listen in the player above.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.