Our Service
Recompose is a green funeral home specializing in human composting to transform your loved one’s body into soil. If a death has occurred or is near, we are here for you 24 hours a day. Call us at (206) 800-8733.
Soil Transformation
Human composting is a sustainable alternative to cremation. Our process is tailored to each individual and takes between 8 to 12 weeks.
Exceptional Support and Guidance
With decades of experience, our staff are the leading experts in human composting. Our funeral directors provide responsive and thoughtful care, and will keep you informed during the process of soil transformation. As a testament to our work, Recompose was voted the Best Funeral Home in the Pacific Northwest in 2023 and 2024.
Giving Back to the Earth
Once your person has come into our care, their body will be gently transformed into soil. Their soil can be used to nourish gardens and plants, or to scatter across favorite places. You can also donate any amount to nonprofit conservation organizations through the Recompose Land Program.
We’re Here to Guide You
Whether a death has already occurred or is imminent, contact us anytime at (206) 800-8733, services@recompose.life, or fill out the form below.
From Our Clients
Voted the best funeral home in the Pacific Northwest the last two years, Recompose earned this recognition by thoughtfully guiding hundreds of families through the experience of losing a loved one.
Pricing
We strive to be straightforward about our pricing and services so you know what to expect.
Recompose operates with integrity and clarity—our staff do not work on commission and will never try to upsell you. We aim to keep our costs comparable to other death care options.
Our $7,000 Price includes the following services:
Our Services team is knowledgeable and responsive throughout the 8 to 12 weeks your person is in our care. Our licensed funeral directors have decades of experience providing personalized care and guidance.
Transportation of the body within King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties in Washington State is included in our price.
- Transport costs within Washington State
Costs for Washington counties are based on proximity to Recompose. Current pricing for Washington State is listed by county in our Price List. - Transport costs outside Washington State
Transport costs vary by funeral home and region. For example, transport from Portland, Oregon to Seattle costs $850, whereas California to Seattle starts at about $3,000. Most clients that come to us from another state work with a local funeral home to pick up the body and arrange for transport.
Our Services team is here to help. Please contact us at (206) 800-8733 or services@recompose.life to discuss transport options and help with arranging transportation.
If needed, Recompose offers onsite cooled storage for up to four weeks.
The death certificate is a mandatory legal document that registers each death with the appropriate local authorities. Recompose’s Services Specialists will handle the filing of the death certificate for residents Washington State.
If you need a certified copy of the death certificate for a bank or insurance claim, our staff can help you order as many as you need. In most cases, we can assist you in ordering copies from your local vital records office and have them mailed directly to you. Fees for each death certificate vary by county. For example, as of January 2021, King County charges $25 each.
County fees such as Medical Examiner reviews and disposition approval fees are included as a part of the cost for our composting services. Before a death certificate is certified, country registrars and some District Attorney offices review information such as cause of death identified on the death certificate and grant approval for disposition to proceed.
You may choose to have an obituary published on our website and include multiple pictures in a photo gallery. The obituary can include links for guests to make a donation in honor of your loved one. Our staff is available to guide you in writing your tribute.
The transformation into soil will be tailored to your person and managed by the leading experts in human composting. Our Services team will communicate with you at pivotal moments throughout your person’s transformation into soil. You will be updated at key stages of the process.
Eight to 12 weeks after your person is placed into the vessel, they will become nutrient-rich soil ready to nourish the land and give back to the earth.
The amount of soil for each person varies. Typically about a cubic yard of soil is produced that weighs between 500 to 1,000 pounds.
You can choose how much soil to keep or donate to conservation efforts. If you choose to keep your person’s soil, it will be packaged in durable paper bags.
Note: while soil pick up from Recompose is included in the human composting price, the shipping of soil is an additional cost. See our Price List for more information.
Recompose currently offers two packaging options: our standard packaging in durable paper bags and a smaller specialty container available for purchase. Learn more about packaging options.
Recompose Community Fund
Recompose is committed to bringing ecological death care to as many people as possible. This includes providing our human composting services at a subsidized rate to individuals who could not otherwise afford to pay our full price.
Recompose considers applications for Community Fund support once a death has occurred. Funds are limited so please contact us for information on current availability at services@recompose.life.
Ceremony Offerings
Recompose recognizes that every person is unique and comfort may come in many forms. We offer a variety of customizable ceremony options.
Our Seattle location offers two thoughtfully curated spaces for friends and family to gather for in-person and virtual ceremonies. Our team of licensed funeral directors helps with event planning, ensures events run smoothly, and can lead ceremonies if desired.
The Gathering Space
Floor-to-ceiling windows in shades of green and yellow and a large tapestry of the forest invite nature into this urban sanctuary. At the center of the room is a white, hexagonal threshold vessel—a passageway to the Greenhouse, where human composting occurs. This beautiful, light-filled room is a welcoming space for ceremonies and small services, and has a lectern for speakers and a screen for slideshows.
Cedar
Cedar is a room whose design was informed by the traditions and practices of home funerals. It’s a serene space where clients can spend unstructured time with their person before transformation into soil begins. It can be used for personal time, private viewings, or hands-on care, like bathing or shrouding. Clients also use Cedar to connect with their loved one’s soil after transformation is complete and before it is returned to the earth.
We recognize that for many this is a new experience. Our licensed Services Specialists are available to assist and serve as guides as requested.
Note: Ceremony offerings are optional and not included in the price of human composting. Please see our Ceremony Catalog for more information.
Client Stories
Our clients weave their own family, community, and faith traditions to create new rituals. Their stories inspire us.
“He took great pleasure in being on the frontier with Recompose”
In this short video, two families share their experiences and the impact of choosing human composting and using Recompose.
“Continue to honor Dad”
Jeff Mintle and his family loved to travel. They continue to honor him by spreading his soil in his favorite places around the world.
“From Earth to Earth”
Sonia Baker was passionate about the environment. She wanted to be returned to the earth beneath a Gravenstein apple tree because they make the best apple pies.
Obituaries
Read below to learn about some of the people Recompose is honored to have transformed into soil.
FAQ
Learn more below about the Recompose approach and process.
Planning
Choosing our human composting services is possible in most places outside of Washington State. 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 loved one’s body transported to the Seattle area. I have chosen a funeral home called Recompose to handle their death care services. Can you help me make arrangements?”
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 for guidance.
Our Services team is here to support you and can discuss options, find a transporting funeral home, and help arrange for transport. Please contact our staff at (206) 800-8733 or services@recompose.life.Our article, Arranging for Transportation, also has information to help you.
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.
Yes. We offer both virtual tours and in-person guided, small group tours led by Recompose staff. Learn more and sign up for a tour.
Human composting is powered by beneficial microbes that occur naturally on our bodies and in the environment.
At the time of laying in, our Services Specialists place the body into a composting vessel surrounded by a mixture of wood chips, alfalfa, and straw carefully calibrated and specially tailored to each body. The body and plant material remain in the vessel for five to seven weeks.
Each body creates about one cubic yard of soil amendment, which is removed from the vessel and allowed to cure for three to five weeks. Once complete, the soil can be used to enrich conservation land, forests, or gardens. The pH range of Recompose compost is usually between 6.5 and 7, which is ideal for most plants. The soil created returns the nutrients from our bodies to the natural world. It restores forests, sequesters carbon, and nourishes new life.
Recompose follows all compost-testing regulations put forth by the Washington State Department of Licensing and the Board of Health.
Recompose does not offer grave markers.
The soil created by human composting can be scattered, buried, or used in gardening. In Washington State, you must have the permission of the landowner. As a way of memorializing their loved one, Recompose clients have used soil to plant groves of trees or to nourish flower gardens tended by their loved one when they were alive. Others have chosen to donate their soil to our conservation partner to be used to nourish and revitalize the land.
While each individual body is different, the entire Recompose process typically takes about eight to twelve weeks. Our staff will communicate with families at key points throughout the process and will be in touch when the soil is ready.
Pricing
Recompose aims to keep our costs comparable to other death care options. Our $7,000 includes empathetic care and guidance from our Services team from the time of death through transformation into soil 8 to 12 weeks later.
According to a 2023 study conducted by the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost for a funeral with a coffin and burial is $8,300 (not including the burial plot itself, which can range from the hundreds to the tens of thousands) and the median cost for cremation is $6,280.
We strive to be straightforward about our pricing and services so you are informed and know what to expect. Recompose operates with integrity and clarity and will never try to upsell you. Learn more about our services and find a list of current pricing for all services in our General Price List.
We are committed to bringing ecological death care to as many people as possible. This includes providing our services at a subsidized rate to individuals who could not otherwise afford to pay our full price through our Community Fund.
Recompose’s price for human composting does not include a ceremony, flowers, newspaper obituaries, clergy honorariums, transportation of the body outside our service area, or additional transport for autopsies.
You can see a full list of ceremony offerings in our Ceremony Catalog as well as additional items in our General Price List. The GPL is a document the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to have available in the interest of protecting consumers.
Our staff can help you order certified copies of the death certificate via your county’s vital records office. This service is included with our cost for human composting, but fees for death certificates vary by county. For example, as of January 2021, King County charges $25 each.