Brooklyn cemetery plans human composting option, stirring interest and debate
In the final season of life, some people are choosing to return their remains directly to the soil.
Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery is set to become the first on the East Coast to implement "Natural Organic Reduction," also known as human composting, or "terramation."
It's considered an environmentally conscious alternative to traditional burial or cremation. The practice has been legal in a handful of states and was legalized in New York since 2022.
Why Green-Wood is offering human composting
People are increasingly interested in alternate end-of-life options, said Meera Joshi, President of Green-Wood Cemetery.
"People are very, very interested in making sure that they have sustainable ways to remember their family. But especially in New York City, where density and real estate are real issues and commodities," Joshi told CBS News New York's Hannah Kliger.
Under the process, remains are placed in a vessel full of organic material. Over several weeks, they are transformed into soil that can be used to nourish the cemetery's plant life.
"They sit in a pod for 40 days, and over that time, and with some gentle rocking, the whole entire pod becomes earth. And that's earth that we use to sustain our landscape," Joshi said.
Green-Wood is partnering with a German company, Meine Erde, to provide the option for families starting in 2027, pending approval from the New York State Cemetery Board.
Gabrielle Gatto, a death doula and manager of public programs at Green-Wood, says the option allows people to reflect their values, even after life.
"It provides us with more choice. We have so much agency in our lives. We never really talk about what agency we have in our end-of-life care, or our end-of-life choices," Gatto said.
Some religious leaders oppose practice
While proponents point to environmental benefits, human composting is not universally accepted. Several religious leaders say the practice conflicts with long-standing beliefs about death, burial and dignity.
"The Catholic Church opposes human composting because we believe the remains of human beings who are made in the image and likeness of God should not be treated like manure or fertilizer," said Trent Horn, a staff apologist with Catholic Answers.
Rabbi Andrew Schultz, executive director of the Community Alliance for Jewish Affiliated Cemeteries, said this option does not align with Jewish burial traditions, though many secular Jews inquire about alternate practices.
"While composting seems to be natural, it doesn't provide what we call in Hebrew the Kavod Hamet, the respect and dignity of a person who's passed away, that someone should be returned to the earth, someone should have an appropriate grave marker," Schultz said.
"At the heart of our democracy, we have pluralism, and that's a value that we cherish as Muslims," says Ibad Wali, vice president of the New York branch of The Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Having said that, we as Muslims practice burial, wherein the decomposition of the human body should take place six feet under."
For those considering it, the process represents a deeply personal decision about the final footprint they leave on the earth.
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