California to legalize human composting by 2027 as residents seek environmentally healthy burials

The human composting industry may not be legal yet in California, but residents found a workaround by flying the bodies of their deceased loved ones to a state where it is.

California has already voted to legalize the composting of human remains in 2027, but some residents are not willing to wait that long. 

The Los Angeles Times wrote about California resident Blaire Van Valkenburgh being one of a growing number of residents composting the remains of their loved ones, "But this kind of burial — natural organic reduction — won’t be legal in California until 2027, so Van Valkenburgh paid to fly her husband’s body to Washington, the first state to legalize human composting in 2020."

Until 2027, it appears that there will be a budding industry of collaboration to facilitate compost burials for those who live in California. "[I]n the first of what will probably be other such collaborations, the family-owned Clarity Funerals and Cremation in Anaheim has partnered with Return Home to offer a package deal for people in Southern California who want to compost their loved ones in Washington," the LA Times wrote.

The same outlet reported that currently, the three human composting mortuaries operating in Washington "have reported steady business from out-of-state customers, especially Californians, who are either flying or driving their deceased loved ones north."

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Former Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who took credit for authoring California’s law, spoke about her reasons for doing so.

"I love the outdoors and I really want to be a tree in my afterlife," she told the LA Times. "My family has a crypt in Mexico, where there are no trees or shade around .... I want my soil to be used specifically for a plum tree, my favorite fruit, and my loved ones can visit me there."

Garcia added that she wanted an earlier date than 2027 for legalization of human composting, but needed to satisfy the state Cemetery and Funeral Bureau’s request for more time to set rules and standards. 

"I didn’t want to risk it not getting passed," Garcia said.

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"The truth is, the last gesture most of us will make on this earth is toxic," human composting pioneer Katrina Spade wrote in 2016, which was quoted in the piece.