One of the country’s largest human composting operations has opened near Washington, D.C., as debate grows over the expanding practice and its legal status nationwide.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A newly opened facility in Maryland is bringing renewed attention to the growing use of human composting in the United States, a practice supporters describe as environmentally conscious and critics condemn as degrading to human dignity.
According to an Axios report, funeral services company Earth Funeral has launched a 36,000-square-foot operation in Elkridge, Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital. The site is designed to process human remains through what the industry calls “soil transformation,” and company officials say it is among the largest facilities of its kind in the world.
The company announced the opening earlier this month in a Facebook statement, describing the launch as a milestone for alternative end-of-life services. The location currently contains 56 composting vessels, though Earth Funeral CEO Tom Harries told Axios the company intends to double its capacity while continuing expansion efforts across the country.
The process, sometimes referred to as “human composting” or “soil transformation,” involves placing a deceased person’s body into a sealed container with organic materials intended to accelerate natural decomposition. According to the company’s FAQ page, the remains are combined with materials that balance carbon and nitrogen levels, allowing microbial activity to convert the body into soil over several weeks.
Earth Funeral states that the procedure generally takes about 45 days. Families may then retain or donate the resulting soil, which the company says can total approximately 300 pounds. Axios reported that the service typically costs less than $6,000.
The legal status of the practice continues to vary across the United States. Earth Funeral’s own state tracker indicates that human composting is currently permitted in 14 states. Oklahoma nearly joined that list this year before Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed House Bill 3660, legislation that would have authorized the practice statewide. Oklahoma outlet News 9 reported on the veto May 13.
Opposition to the measure in Oklahoma was led in part by Republican State Rep. Jim Shaw, who previously discussed the proposal with the Daily Caller News Foundation. Responding Wednesday to news of the Maryland facility, Shaw criticized the concept in comments to the DCNF.
“This site and the overall practice of turning dead bodies into human compost should be shocking and surprising to everyone,” Shaw said.
Axios also reported that a retired Air Force colonel who selected Earth Funeral while planning his estate hopes to advocate for Arlington National Cemetery to permit composted remains. Shaw strongly objected to that possibility.
“I can’t think of anything worse to dishonor the former or fallen military service members who served and possibly gave their lives for our country,” Shaw told the DCNF.
Shaw further cited remarks made by broadcaster Glenn Beck during prior discussion of Oklahoma’s legislation.
“If we start blurring the lines between dignity and utility, you do it first in death, then eventually you start doing it in life. Every regime that has treated human beings as raw material whether it was for labor, or experimentation or disposal, began that same quiet shift into darkness. A person becomes secondary, the system becomes primary,” Shaw said.
He added that society’s treatment of the dead reflects broader cultural values.
“Ultimately, the way we treat our dead says a lot about what we believe as a society. We need to be very concerned about viewing people as, and turning them into, products,” Shaw said.
“Most people intrinsically know that human beings are not waste, we are not raw material to be repurposed in death or in life. We were created by God,” he added.
Earth Funeral maintains that the service is intended to provide an alternative for families seeking options outside conventional burial or cremation. Asked by Axios how the company responds to religious and moral objections, Harries emphasized that participation is voluntary.
“This is purely about consumer choice. Soil transformation is one option – an environmental alternative to burial and cremation – not a mandate,” Harries said. “We welcome questions and concerns from anyone looking for new, greener death care options.”
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