Web Desk:
According to the national media, New York has joined other US states by approving a bill allowing for the conversion of human bodies into compost after death.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill on Saturday, authorizing the natural conversion of corpses into compost in the state, according to the New York Post.
The legislative move makes the state the sixth to do so since 2019 and gives New Yorkers access to an alternative, green method of burial deemed environmentally friendly.
Washington became the first state to legalize human composting in 2019, followed by Colorado and Oregon in 2021, then Vermont and California later in 2022. New York’s legislation, A382, passed both assemblies over the summer.
Also known as natural organic reduction, the practice sees a body decompose over several weeks after being shut in a container.
The remains of the deceased will be placed into a reusable container together with plant materials like wood chips, alfalfa, and straw as part of the procedure to form the ideal environment for naturally occurring bacteria to decompose the body, which takes roughly a month.
