Our Services

Based in Seattle, Washington, Recompose provides human composting services in all 50 states.

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Immediate Need

If a death has occurred or is expected soon, we're here to support you. Call us anytime at (206) 800-8733.

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Imminent Pathway

Extended support as you navigate a terminal diagnosis, hospice, or the end of life.

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Plan Ahead

Set up your future human composting with our prepaid funeral plan, Precompose. It's simple, flexible, and risk-free.

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Ceremony Offerings

Plan a custom ceremony in one of our thoughtfully curated spaces. Each experience can be tailored to fit your needs and traditions.

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reception area of funeral home with green wall and desk

Recompose 101: Online Tour

Virtual Tours

Schedule an online tour of Recompose using the form below.

Recompose’s online tours are similar to our in-person tours but offer the opportunity to be guided virtually through Recompose’s community and ceremony spaces as well as a portion of the vessel array in the Greenhouse, where human composting takes place. During this hour-long experience, you’ll learn about our history, values, goals, and the Recompose human composting process. Tours are hosted on Zoom and free to attend.

Interested in visiting us in person?

We offer small group tours at our Seattle location. Learn more here.

Tour Sign Up

Note: If you’re registering multiple people, please use a unique email and name for each attendee. Our system can’t process duplicates. Thank you.

We’ve had the pleasure of receiving thousands of guests from all over the world. Hear what they have to say about our tours.

I attended a tour and it was remarkably informative and helpful in our planning for end of life. I absolutely recommend for those seeking an environmentally responsible way to care for loved ones or your own remains.

Tracey H

Seattle, Washington

I was delighted by the hospitality, graciousness, and care exhibited by the professional staff. The tour was educational and informative, with no hint of sales pitch.

Julie B

Seattle, Washington

The facility is so comforting and welcoming, you’d think it was a spa. Everything about Recompose is so well-thought, and I really appreciate the effort that the team has put into making the process of human composting more accessible, beautiful, and exciting.

Noah S

Seattle, Washington

Recompose has created a thoughtful, warm, and inviting place. A healthy and meaningful connection that reframes our relationship to nature in our last act and supports a critical cultural shift.

Deb G

Seattle, Washington

What a wonderful experience! The tour exceeded our expectations. It was so nice to hear from Katrina herself about the evolution of Recompose and to be able to see all the different rooms and parts of the process. Highly recommend a visit!

Sarah L

Fort Collins, Colorado

The facility was so beautiful and peaceful, the decor was very thoughtful and invoked a strong sense of nature and elegance. The staff were incredibly kind and knowledgeable about the process. We left feeling so warm and hopeful for the future of natural death care. This really does feel like a crucial step into an eco-friendly future.

Jay C

Kirkland, Washington

If you’ve been considering human composting for your end-of-life plans, definitely go and take the tour. I immediately signed up for a payment plan afterwards. Thank you for giving me a choice in the final impact my life will have on this beautiful world I am so lucky to live in.

Melissa S

Redmond, Washington

The staff is wonderful, the atmosphere is genuinely serene, and they explain the process so well that any reservations you may have had when you first considered human composting, will be gone.

Lorie P

Arvada, Colorado

Beautiful environment, caring staff who stressed respect and caring for the bodies of the persons who are in their keeping for this ecologically friendly process. Definitely recommend the tour.

Rico R

Seattle, Washington

I went on a tour of the facility and was SO impressed. It was everything I hoped it would be and more – so sensitive, so ecological, so moral, so personal. It’s very pleasing to think that human remains, my remains, will be turned into nutrient rich soil that can be used to grow new plant life. I like that.

Sally B

Seattle, Washington

I had a great experience last night on the Pride Community Tour. The team was great at providing more information on death care and the process. There was also so much helpful information on how members of the Queer community can make sure that they are honored and respected. Thank you.

Basil D

Seattle, Washington

Seeing where it all happens, and learning the process of returning bodies to their fundamental building blocks, was enlightening and uplifting. The facility is lovely.

EJ LW

Seattle, Washington

I thought I was lost while driving to this destination amid the warehouses and semi trucks passing by, but when I arrived at Recompose, it felt like a breath of fresh air, serene, and comfortable. The staff was welcoming and the tour was very informative providing a viable option for death care.

Mary H

Seattle, Washington

We had a fantastic talk and tour. What really came through for me was also the compassion that Recompose brings to it all. Recompose has quickly transitioned from being something we are just curious about to something we are strongly considering for our own end-of-life option.

Jerry P

Seattle, Washington

Katrina’s passion about human composting and the environment is obvious. I am sure her caring persona will carry over to the services that she is providing to everyone.

Eric V

Seattle, Washington

Phenomenal place, practice, and business. So deserving of the “Best Funeral Home” in 2023. I’m an early adopter, nearly paid in full, with not one regret. Supporting all my values so supremely, I will continue to spread the word, now, having taken the tour, with even more resolve and understanding.

Shannon M

San Francisco, California

I felt comfortable and welcomed from the moment I stepped inside the contemporary and tasteful greeting area. Who has had that feeling before at a funeral home?! The staff are highly knowledgeable, friendly, and clearly committed to this exciting, new and much needed technology.

Dorje D

Honolulu, Hawaii

Washington is so fortunate to have human composting as an alternative option to conventional cemetery burial and cremation. Katrina and her team offer super informative tours of this facility in Seattle. I just attended one and highly recommend it for any and all!

Angie W

Seattle, Washington

The Recompose facility in Seattle is an uplifting place. The tour showed how thoughtfully people are treated – those who have just died and those left behind, from the Cedar Room for private last visits and rituals, to the gathering room for services and farewells, to the Greenhouse, pristine and peaceful.

Mindy K

Saint Paul, Minnesota

I attended a tour at Recompose in Seattle and I found the whole experience caring, thoughtful, gentle, and full of wisdom. Additionally, the facility is well designed with many natural touches. In a word: welcoming. The cycle of life is preserved through their process.

Ann L

Seattle, Washington

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Human composting is the transformation of a human body into soil. Recompose places each body into a stainless steel vessel along with wood chips, alfalfa, and straw. Microbes that naturally occur on the plant material and on and in our bodies power the transformation into soil.

Over the next five to seven weeks, the body inside the vessel breaks down thanks to the natural action of the microbes. The soil is then removed from the vessel, screened for non-organic items such as hip replacements or stents, and allowed to cure for an additional three to five weeks.

Once the process is complete, the soil can be used on trees and plants, or donated to conservation efforts. Each body creates about one cubic yard of soil.

Watch Recompose Founder and CEO, Katrina Spade, describe how human composting works during her 2023 talk at the End Well Conference.

Learn more about the steps involved in the human composting process.

The human composting process generally takes between two to three months. Our staff communicate timing and key moments throughout the process. Each body spends about five to seven weeks in a Recompose vessel, then the soil is transferred to an aerated bin to cure for an additional three to five weeks.

Recompose follows all compost-testing regulations put forth by the Washington State Department of Licensing and the Board of Health. The pH range of Recompose compost is usually between 6.5 and 7, which is ideal for most plants. Learn more about the composition of Recompose soil here.

Watch Recompose Founder and CEO, Katrina Spade, describe timing in the human composting process during her 2023 talk at the End Well Conference.

Learn more about the steps involved in the human composting process.

Bones and teeth do not fully break down in the human composting process due to their mineral composition. Similar to other forms of death care, equipment is needed to reduce the bones.

Microbes do the primary work of human composting. By controlling the ratio of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and moisture, human composting creates the perfect environment for microbes and beneficial bacteria to thrive. To create that environment, Recompose uses a mixture of plant materials carefully calibrated and tailored to each body.

Recompose staff rotate each vessel at several points during the process to ensure thorough aeration and exposure to resources for the microbes.

Bones are reduced to a fine powder by equipment after the soil is removed from the Recompose vessel. Staff also screen for non-organics such as implants, which are recycled whenever possible. The reduced bone is added back to the compost to help balance the compost nutrients and make minerals available to plants. It continues to break down and return to the environment over time.

Recompose follows all compost-testing regulations put forth by the Washington State Department of Licensing and the Board of Health. The pH range of Recompose compost is usually between 6.5 and 7, which is ideal for most plants.

Learn more about the human composting process.

sample human composting soil with hands holding soil
Sample compost, not created from a human body, that has been through our composting process.

The Recompose human composting process creates approximately one cubic yard of soil per body which is roughly 3 x 3 x 3 feet. This amount fills the bed of most pickup trucks and weighs about 1,000 pounds. The process begins with three cubic yards of plant material.

Families can take some or all of the soil home once the process is complete, and donate what does not go home to conservation efforts. Learn more about how to consider your soil options.

You can choose Recompose for human composting from most states. You can contact our staff at (206) 800-8733 or precompose@recompose.life and we can help you arrange for transport.

Most clients that come to us from another state work with a funeral home in their area to arrange for transport. This funeral home will pick up a body at the place of death and arrange for transport to Recompose. When you contact a funeral home, we suggest starting the conversation by saying something like, “I am looking to have my body transported to the Seattle area. I have chosen a funeral home called Recompose to handle my death care services. Can you help me make arrangements?”

In most instances, families can also transport their person to Recompose in their personal vehicle with the correct permits. If you are interested in this option, please contact us and we’re happy to help.

Please note: Bodies that come to Recompose must not be embalmed. While most funeral homes are experienced with transporting bodies, they may not yet have heard of human composting or have experience with this kind of transport. If you have any questions or need help finding a transporting funeral home, Recompose staff can help you.

Our article, How to Arrange for Transport to Recompose, also has information to help you.