US: New York legalises composting of human bodies in a bid to go green

In a bid to go green, New York has become the sixth US state to legalise human composting, meaning that after a person is dead, their body can be turned into soil.

The move is seen as an environment friendly alternative to burial or cremation.

According to a BBC report, under human composting a person's body is put in a sealed container and allowed to decay for a period of weeks.

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This process is called natural organic reduction in which materials like wood chips, straw grass are placed alongside the dead in the container. After the body has decayed in a month's time, the soil is handed over to the deceased's family which can be use for planting trees, vegetables or flowers.