soil from human composting

Human Composting Advocacy in Minnesota

Take action to help legalize human composting

HF 2669 was introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives by Representatives John Huot and Mike Freiberg on March 6, 2023.

Voice Your Support

It’s a great time to start letting your Minnesota State Representative and Senator know that human composting is an issue that’s important to you.

Below is an email template you can use as a base. We’ve learned it’s important to personalize your letter and add your own story about why you support this legislation.

Not sure who to write or where to send your email? Find your Minnesota legislator contact information here.

Email Template

Subject Line: Please Support HF 2669

Dear [REPRESENTATIVE OR SENATOR],

I am writing to express my hope that you will endorse HF 2669 to add natural organic reduction (also known as human composting) as a legally permissible form of disposition in the state of Minnesota. Human composting is now legal in quite a few states: Washington, Colorado, Oregon, California, Vermont, New York, and Nevada, and I would appreciate this option being available to residents of Minnesota, too.

[INSERT HERE WHY YOU PERSONALLY SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION]

Thank you for your attention to this legislation.

[NAME]
[ADDRESS]

 

shrouded mannequin in front of human composting vessel

How does Human Composting Become Law?

In the U.S., the laws governing human remains vary greatly from state to state, as do the processes for passing new laws. Washington State was the first state that legalized human composting in 2019. The process took two years from the initial conversation with our representative until the law was passed, and another year until it took effect. The second state to legalize human composting, Colorado, passed the law in just under a year.

Because of the difference from state to state, we don’t have a template for how to pass human composting laws. However, we wrote an overview of what the process can look like to help you understand what it may take to pass legislation in your state.

containers of recompose material used to compost human bodies

About the Death Care Industry

Funeral practices like cremation and embalming have a profound impact on the environment.

Each year, about 3 million people die in the U.S. Cremation burns fossil fuels and emits carbon dioxide and particulates into the atmosphere. Conventional burial consumes valuable urban land, pollutes the soil, and contributes to climate change through the resource-intensive manufacture and transport of caskets, headstones, and grave liners. Every year in the U.S., caskets alone use four million acres of forest.

What we do with our bodies when we die matters. Human composting allows you to choose an option that supports new life after death. There is poetry in giving back to the ecosystem that has supported us our whole lives.

katrina spade in front of human composting vessels in recompose seattle

About Recompose

A decade ago, Katrina Spade recognized the need for a sustainable and scalable urban death care alternative. She spent years working with scientists and legal advisors designing the process to transform human bodies into soil.  Since then, Katrina has helped write bills with state legislators, testify before committees, and ensure a safe process with regulators once a state legalizes human composting to help bring this ecological death care option to people everywhere.

In 2017, Katrina founded Recompose, a public benefit corporation based in Seattle and the world’s first human composting company. Recompose started accepting bodies for human composting in December 2020.

In 2022, we began sharing our facility with the public through tours in-person and online.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Join our growing community working to bring human composting to the world.

About Recompose

Recompose is a licensed, full-service, green funeral home in Seattle offering human composting. As the first human composting company in the world, we are a trusted leader in ecological death care. We are Seattle’s only human composting provider and serve clients across the U.S.

Recompose Seattle
4 S. Idaho St, Seattle, WA 98134
Open by appointment

.

Voted Best Funeral Home in Seattle Times’ Best in the PNW Contest 2023

.

.

Land Acknowledgement
Recompose acknowledges we make our lives and livelihoods on the lands of the Coast Salish People, specifically the Duwamish People. We honor with gratitude the Duwamish People past and present, the land itself, and the Duwamish Tribe. Colonization is an active, persistent process. Indigenous communities continue to be resilient in protecting their ecological and cultural lifeways and deathways despite ongoing oppression. Recompose respects, shares, and supports this commitment to climate healing and environmental justice. Join Recompose in contributing to Real Rent Duwamish.