May 2019
Washington
In 2019, Recompose led the passage of Senate Bill 5001. This historic bill allowed Washington State to become the first state in the world to legalize human composting.
Recompose founder Katrina Spade started the legalization process by meeting her local representative, Washington State Senator Jamie Pedersen, for coffee in their shared Capitol Hill neighborhood, and he agreed to sponsor the bill.
SB5001 passed the House by a vote of 80 in favor to 16 against, then the Senate by a vote of 38 to 11. On May 21, 2019, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill into law. The law went into effect on May 7, 2020.
Thank you to everyone who testified in support of SB5001. Special thanks to Recompose policy strategist Vicki Christophersen, the bill’s co-sponsors, and everyone who helped bring SB5001 into law.
Join Our Community
We appreciate all who supported our work to make Washington the first place in the world to legalize human composting. We are working hard to bring this new model of death care to the world and can’t do this work without the support of our community. Here are a few ways to get involved:
- Subscribe to our newsletter – get news and updates on the human composting movement
- Shop Recompose Gifts & Gear – show the world you’re a human composting enthusiast and support those who couldn’t otherwise afford human composting services
- Tour Recompose – Sign up for an in-person or online tour to see our facility and learn more about human composting
- Join Precompose – Pay in advance and make arrangements for your future human composting with Recompose
