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Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

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Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#41

Post by SmileyRedBall »

spinach wrote: post #8
tr33house wrote: post #2

While composting has a lot of benefits, I would be very sad to attend a friend's burial if they were to be composted. Feels like a disrespectful way to let someone go. I'm also concerned about disease transmission. Cows' diseases may not necessarily affect us but humans' certainly will. The need to disinfect kinda defeats the purpose (pollution with chemicals) Hope about we just compost other things and let human bod…

I don't think it's particularly disrespectful, isn't all that's needed a change of perspective? What makes it disrespectful, precisely? The common method of embalming in North America seems more disrespectful - pumping a body full of chemicals that weren't there in the first place and helping to pollute the earth.

@spinach: “I don't think it's particularly disrespectful, isn't all that's needed a change of perspective? What makes it disrespectful, precisely?”

Your processor's all fucked up, your information tray is jammed. Personally, I'd feel a little queasy eating strawberries from my own garden fertilized with my dear ole gran. To reduce the cadaver into compost would totally disrespect such shared memories as were had with their loved one. I guess your response here is yet another depiction of the dehumanizing effects of the coming transhuman post-human epoch. Where, as I read somewhere recently, one can attend ones own funeral as a robot. Oh brave new world that has such people in it.

Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#42

Post by pndy »

wielebny wrote: post #22
karka91 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hi, european here. Never heard about composting here. Those are not vaults. Those are just holes in ground with a cover on top. It's mostly decorative and there so that you don't walk on top of the coffin. We don't usually own these also. Usually city where you live has a cemetery that must provide a place for the coffin.

In Poland municipality provides a place in ground, but for at most 20 years. After that the place is recycled for another burial. You're free to buy it though to prolong that term and in my opinion it's quite common among the elder ones.

> In Poland municipality provides a place in ground

That would apply to municipal graveyard while church owned ones are managed separately. In either case, if grave spot fee isn't paid on time, space goes back to the pool while remains of previous "occupant" are transferred to the ossuarium - IIRC.

Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#43

Post by m23khan »

I thought Muslims perform their burials in style of compost.

In Pakistan,

The dead body is wrapped in cloth shroud and the grave is dug six feet and is lined with concrete blocks (ground is bare Earth). Coffin is not used. The body is laid in the grave then if I remember correctly, grave is covered partially (25% - 33%?) with soil and then thick concrete/stone slabs are placed on top to cover the grave. After that, the grave is covered with mound of Earth.

Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#44

Post by AstralStorm »

SmileyRedBall wrote: post #41
spinach wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's particularly disrespectful, isn't all that's needed a change of perspective? What makes it disrespectful, precisely? The common method of embalming in North America seems more disrespectful - pumping a body full of chemicals that weren't there in the first place and helping to pollute the earth.

@spinach: “I don't think it's particularly disrespectful, isn't all that's needed a change of perspective? What makes it disrespectful, precisely?” Your processor's all fucked up, your information tray is jammed. Personally, I'd feel a little queasy eating strawberries from my own garden fertilized with my dear ole gran. To reduce the cadaver into compost would totally disrespect such shared memories as were had with…

And why does this anger you so?

Nobody is forcing you to compost anyone else's body, right?

You have the right to be burned or buried in a variety of sanitary ways. Composting is currently not allowed, yet, in many jurisdictions.

Do you find mummies undignified? Stalin's preserved body left for display? "Heaven" burials Zoroastrianism practices?

Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#45

Post by m-p-3 »

There is a place like that near where I live in Canada, your remains gets transformed into a fertilizer and a small tree is planted right above it.

I already specified it in my will to go for such a solution or in the same vein, as long as it remain as eco-friendly as possible.

I really like the idea of having a tree with my name on it, instead of a tombstone.

Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#46

Post by dusted »

m23khan wrote: post #43

I thought Muslims perform their burials in style of compost. In Pakistan, The dead body is wrapped in cloth shroud and the grave is dug six feet and is lined with concrete blocks (ground is bare Earth). Coffin is not used. The body is laid in the grave then if I remember correctly, grave is covered partially (25% - 33%?) with soil and then thick concrete/stone slabs are placed on top to cover the grave. After that, t…

concrete is super terrible for the environment compared to wood.

Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#47

Post by praptak »

whatshisface wrote: post #34

People are long-lived apex predators, wouldn't this have a heavy metal problem? Tuna and other apex predators tend to be dangerous to eat due to the buildup of pollutants inside them, and they don't live nearly as long or eat nearly as much as a human.

Maybe it's still better to have the heavy metals concentrated into a small area rather than dispersed with smoke.

Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#48

Post by algaeontoast »

I completely agree with this method - I’ve just opted to be put in a faux coffin filled with my body and 100lbs of explosives. That should take care of “scattering my remains”.

Seems like a definite “slam bang” finish to whatever my life amounts to.

Re: Don't bury or cremate – soon you may compost your corpse

#49

Post by guggle »

SmileyRedBall wrote: post #41
spinach wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's particularly disrespectful, isn't all that's needed a change of perspective? What makes it disrespectful, precisely? The common method of embalming in North America seems more disrespectful - pumping a body full of chemicals that weren't there in the first place and helping to pollute the earth.

@spinach: “I don't think it's particularly disrespectful, isn't all that's needed a change of perspective? What makes it disrespectful, precisely?” Your processor's all fucked up, your information tray is jammed. Personally, I'd feel a little queasy eating strawberries from my own garden fertilized with my dear ole gran. To reduce the cadaver into compost would totally disrespect such shared memories as were had with…

It's all cultural though. Other people with other culture would find disrespectful that you don't dig up your dead once a year to wash them up and give them new clothes.
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