當(dāng)你死的時(shí)候，你希望你的身體變成堆肥嗎?

當(dāng)你死的時(shí)候，你希望你的身體變成堆肥嗎?

Many people like the idea of planting a tree next to the grave of a loved one so their bodies can live on, in a sense, by providing nutrients that get absorbed by the tree. But would you ever want to forgo the casket and the grave, and have your remains directly transformed into compost?

許多人喜歡在親人的墓旁種一棵樹，這樣在某種意義上，通過提供被樹吸收的營養(yǎng)，他們的身體就能繼續(xù)生存。但是你會想放棄棺材和墳?zāi)梗屇愕倪z體直接變成堆肥嗎?

Would you plant a garden using compost of your loved ones? (Photo: Nate Steiner [public domain]/Flickr)

Washington, which earlier this year became the first state to legalize human composting, is giving residents options beyond burial or cremation.

今年早些時(shí)候，華盛頓成為美國第一個(gè)將人類堆肥合法化的州。

"People from all over the state who wrote to me are very excited about the prospect of becoming a tree or having a different alternative for themselves," state Sen. Jamie Pedersen, who sponsored the bill, told NBC News when the bill was passed.

“全州寫信給我的人都對成為一棵樹的前景感到非常興奮，或者他們自己有一個(gè)不同的選擇，”州參議員杰米·佩德森在法案通過后告訴NBC新聞。佩德森是該法案的發(fā)起人。

As a result of that legislation, the first human composting site is on a path to open its doors in spring 2021 in Seattle.

由于這項(xiàng)立法，第一個(gè)人類堆肥場將于2021年春天在西雅圖開業(yè)。

The law allows for the "recomposition" of human remains, a process that speeds up decomposition and turns the remains into nutrient-packed soil, which can be used as the family sees fit. That's where Seattle's Recompose gets its name and its mission: "Recompose takes guidance from nature. At the heart of our model is a system that will gently return us to the earth after we die."

法律允許對遺體進(jìn)行“重新組合”，這一過程會加速遺體的分解，并將遺體轉(zhuǎn)化為營養(yǎng)豐富的土壤，供家人根據(jù)自己的意愿使用。這就是西雅圖“重新組合”這個(gè)名字的由來和它的使命:“重新組合需要大自然的指引。”我們的模型的核心是一個(gè)系統(tǒng)，它將在我們死后輕輕地把我們送回地球。”

The facility, which looks nothing like a traditional funeral home, will house 75 hexagonal-shaped vessels where bodies will be stored for decomposition. The breakdown takes about 30 days using wood chips, alfalfa and straw.

這個(gè)設(shè)施看起來一點(diǎn)也不像傳統(tǒng)的殯儀館，它將容納75個(gè)六邊形的容器，尸體將被儲存在那里腐爛。使用木屑、紫花苜蓿和稻草，大約需要30天才能分解。

Cycle of life?

生命周期?

While some people might think there's something eerily cannibalistic about eating crops that were planted in grandma's remains, it's also a way of perpetuating the cycle of life that all of our food grows from. This is the mental hurdle that has likely prevented human composting from being legalized until recently.

雖然有些人可能會認(rèn)為吃那些在祖母的遺體上種植的作物是一種可怕的同類相食的行為，但這也是一種讓我們所有食物生長的生命循環(huán)得以延續(xù)的方式。這可能是阻礙人類堆肥直到最近才合法化的心理障礙。

Using science and recomposition does have some practical benefits that are worth considering as well.

使用科學(xué)和重組確實(shí)有一些實(shí)際的好處，也值得考慮。

For one, it's more economical. A traditional burial costs an average of $7,000, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. Recomposition will cost around $5,500. Moreover, composting is far healthier for the environment. No toxic embalming fluids are used, and the resultant nutrient-rich soil has a green thumb use.

首先，它更經(jīng)濟(jì)。根據(jù)國家喪葬承辦人協(xié)會的數(shù)據(jù)，傳統(tǒng)的葬禮平均花費(fèi)7000美元。重新組合將花費(fèi)大約5500美元。此外，堆肥對環(huán)境更健康。沒有使用有毒的防腐液，因此富含營養(yǎng)的土壤是綠色的。

There are safeguards in place to ensure that no harmful pathogens survive the recomposition process, which has been another sticking point in previous attempts to legalize human composting. A study led by researcher Lynne Carpenter-Boggs at Washington State University, which recomposed six donor bodies in a carefully controlled environment, has demonstrated that the process is safe.

有適當(dāng)?shù)谋Ｕ洗胧源_保沒有有害的病原體在重組過程中存活下來，這是之前試圖使人類堆肥合法化的另一個(gè)癥結(jié)。華盛頓州立大學(xué)研究人員琳恩·卡彭特-博格斯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的一項(xiàng)研究表明，這種方法是安全的。