Typically when a person passes away, their body gets embalmed, cremated, or placed into a coffin, but a Chestnut Hill man doesn’t want any of those options.
Paul Meshejian, 76, heard about human composting and decided that is the path he wants taken when he passes away, writes Aliya Schneider for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The remaining spots in his family’s burial plot and cemetery have already been claimed and he sees cremation as “a waste of energy” that pollutes the atmosphere.
Meshejian has already arranged by Earth Funeral, a West Coast company that legally compost bodies.
After he passes away, the company will wash his body, wrap it in a biodegradable shroud, and place it inside a vessel with wildflowers and mulch..
After about 45 days, Meshejian’s body will become “nutrient-rich-soil.”
The human composting — or natural organic reduction — process isn’t yet legal in Pennsylvania. However, neighboring New Jersey is close to legalizing.
As the industry also doesn’t have an East Coast facility, people have been shipping bodies cross-country to take part in the process.
Meshejian wants his loved ones to receive small containers of his soil, and for it to be sprinkled over his wife’s grave.
The remainder will likely be donated to conservation efforts.
Read more about Paul Meshejian and the process he wants done to his body after he’s gone in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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