Sustainability After Life: Human Composting with Recompose

Audiotocracy

Please note that this interview was recorded some time ago, so some of the information you’ll hear is out of date. That’s my fault, not theirs; it was accurate at the time of the recording. To update you as of August 2024, Recompose has composted 450 people, and 12 states, including California, have legalized the process.

Over a year ago, I had the idea to do a short series on how to have a legacy of sustainability. Dying is a messy business: we leave behind so much stuff, including a body. So the question I wanted to ask and hopefully answer was: Is there a way to leave life a bit more gently?

Turns out, there absolutely are ways. Sadly, we couldn’t find a sponsor for the series - which I wanted to title “Going Green” but was overruled by my team - and ultimately it didn’t get made. However, we did have a couple of amazing interviews along the way, one of which is this one.

Katrina Spade is one of those people whose LinkedIn profile makes you wonder what you’ve been doing with your time. She is the founder and CEO of Recompose, the first human-composting funeral home in the United States. To make Recompose possible, she also spearheaded the human composting movement, convincing legislators of the wisdom of a more natural, sustainable exit from Earth.

In getting human composting accepted in Washington state, Katrina worked with Washington State Senator Jaime Pedersen, and Washington became the first state to allow its citizens this option.

Sadly, I had to work with Recompose personally when my father passed away in October of 2023, and I can tell you, the process is as gentle and respectful as anyone could wish, and I couldn’t be more grateful to Katrina and her team.

The interview you’re about to hear features Ross Reynolds as the interviewer, and he questions Katrina and Jaime on the process of getting human composting legalized, why it’s far and away the most sustainable choice, and how it works.

Find out more about Katrina Spade and Recompose on the Recompose website: https://recompose.life/

Learn more about Senator Jamie Pedersen at the Senate Democrats website: https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/pedersen/.

Connect with the interview-master, golden-voiced Ross Reynolds on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossrey/.