The question, “if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” might be more meaningful in Ohio in the future if a new bill passes into law. The legislation would allow human composting.
Sen. Bill Blessing (R-Colerain Twp.) said Senate Bill 323 would allow a deceased person to undergo "natural organic reduction".
“Over the course of a month or so, the body basically becomes a bag of dirt," Blessing said.
Blessing explained that the human composting process is allowed in Oregon and Washington and is gaining in popularity.
"It's pitched as a very green option, which makes sense," Blessing said. "The idea is you can be put under a tree or become a tree."
Blessing said he has spoken with people from Earth Funeral, a company that specializes in human composting. On its website, Earth Funeral described the process as "a natural, environmentally-friendly alternative to burial and cremation." The company said the 45-day process results in a cubic-yard of nutrient-rich soil. Families are left to choose how much soil they would like returned to spread or plant, and the remainder is donated to local conservation projects for land restoration initiatives.
The process is usually more expensive than cremation, though it can be less than a standard funeral. The bill doesn't have any co-sponsors. Blessing said he only knows of one opponent to the legislation—the Catholic Conference of Ohio. Blessing is a Catholic, and said Ohioans deserve to have this option if they choose it.
In 2015, a bill was introduced to allow a dead body to be liquified, a process known as alkaline hydrolysis or bio cremation. That involves using a mixture of water, potassium hydroxide and heat to break down soft tissue, leaving only bones as cremains. A similar bill was introduced in 2024, and it failed to pass the full legislature.
