Nestled on a quiet street south of Seattle, Recompose stands out – a vibrant building boasting a lush garden and colorful mural. This innovative company is pioneering a new approach to death care: human composting, also known as natural organic reduction.
Five years after Washington became the first state to legalize this process, spearheaded by founder and CEO Katrina Spade, 13 other states have followed suit. Recompose is now looking to expand its operations beyond Seattle, potentially through franchising.
The company’s facility, resembling a successful tech startup with elements like live-edge wood and preserved greenery, offers a calming space for families. It includes dedicated areas for quiet reflection and larger memorial services, centered around a ‘threshold vessel.’
Recompose provides an alternative to traditional burial and cremation, competing with services like Earth Funeral and Return Home. The company has already served over 600 individuals, with approximately 20% coming from outside Washington state. A ‘Precompose’ program allows people to save for the $7,000 expense, currently boasting over 2,000 participants.
The composting process itself, overseen by 17 employees and regulated by three agencies, transforms remains into reusable soil within approximately 30 days. This process uses organic matter like straw, wood chips, and alfalfa to complete the conversion.
“Death care is such emotion-heavy work,” Spade stated. “We like to remind the team composting takes time. It’s a very natural process when we receive a person’s body here, there’s just no rush to get something done quickly — which is nice.”