Treat human remains after death? It has already been a few months old that Switzerland has launched the experimentation of the terramationthe human composting method that transforms the body into fertilizer through a process of natural decomposition, into a controlled environment.
In Zurich, where the Cantonal Parliament gave the green light to experimentation, More than 430 citizens have already expressed their will to adopt it.
Human composting, as the remains of our loved ones create new life (and do not pollute)
A proposal that, however, has raised criticism, in particular by the center democratic union, which believes that the composting of the deceased can offend their dignity.
The environmental advantages of terramation
Yet of the terramation ourselves we have often spoken as a method capable of offering numerous ecological advantages:
- reduction of environmental impact: unlike the traditional burial, which requires the use of a copious amount of soil and the production of polluting materials as the same barehuman composting allows you to restore nutrient substances to the ground without damaging it
- recycling of nutrients: with aerobic decomposition, microorganisms transform the body into a compost rich in nutrients, which can be used to enrich the soil and support the growth of new plants
- reduction of the use of resources: no chemical additives or complex industrial processes are needed, in favor of a completely natural and sustainable approach
Why is terramation in Italy not practiced?
Despite the growing interest in ecological funerary practices, as demonstrated by the growing attention to natural cemeteries and other alternative solutions, human composting is still not allowed in Italy.
The reason is mainly given by the limits regulations And cultural. In fact, Italian legislation does not provide for human composting, and funeral tradition, which remains linked to burial or cremation practices, is still rooted in popular culture.
As moreover, it also happens or also happened in Switzerland, also in Italy some political forces could oppose this practice, considering it inappropriate from the point of view of the dignity of the deceased.
However, here and there there are already small experiments that go in an ecological direction. An example is Live woodsthe first natural cemetery in Italy, in Liguria, a project that allows allows symbolic burials in the woods, in harmony with nature, contributing to the conservation of the landscape and the memory of people, but without the use of polluting practices.
So the terramation? It is a possible sustainable future for the management of funeral rites, but in Italy it is still far from becoming a consolidated reality.
