In Switzerland, 90% of people opt to have their remains cremated. The other 10% opt for burial. However, traditional burial contaminates soil and takes up valuable space. While cremation consumes significant energy and pollutes the air. Four women who created the organisation Werde Erde hope to make compost burial an option, reported SRF.
When someone is buried. any artificial joints, pacemakers, residues from medication and clothing end up in the ground and pollute the soil. Cremation takes around 90 minutes at a temperature of around 1,000 degrees and consumes a similar amount of energy to what someone would consume domestically in one month. Emissions add around 400 kg of CO2 to the atmosphere along with pollutants such as the mercury contained in dental fillings. These drawbacks led to the creation of Werde Erde.
Werde Erde, which means become soil, proposes a process similar to composting. The person’s remains are laid on a bed of wood chips and straw and then covered with green plants. The bed provides carbon while the green plants provide nitrogen, the two key ingredients required to compost the body. The process takes place in an enclosed container over a period of 30 to 40 days. Microorganisms present on the skin and in the plants transform the body into soil. Like cremation, only the bones remain. These are then ground and added to the soil.
Once the composting is complete any artificial joints and pacemakers can be removed and processed separately. In addition, the heat produced during composting breaks down medication residue.
Unlike this new approach, traditional burial does not compost. The microorganisms that stimulate decomposition are missing deep under ground at the depth most bodies are buried.
However, to become a reality, there are many hurdles to clear. More research is required to verify the environmental benefits of the composting process. The design of the compost capsule needs to be finalised and tested. Tests being carried out at the University of Lausanne using dead pigs are expected to answer these questions.
In a poll run by SRF, 80% of people were open to having their remains composted, 14% preferred traditional methods and 6% had ethical reservations about the composting method.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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