A new development in the field of funeral practices has been announced in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. According to a letter from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Integration to the Local Government Association, the authorities have deemed the so-called “Reerdigung” process, in which human remains are composted in a decomposition tank, to be illegal.
The Ministry’s decision is based on an assessment of the patent application filed by the company Circulum Vitae GmbH in 2021, which outlined the process of reerdigung. The patent describes the use of prall and knochen-mühlen, or crushing and bone mills, to further process the composted remains, as well as a “rotation of the composting container” to prevent the formation of clumps in the organic material. The patent also mentions “storage units” containing 200 decomposition tanks, which would be stacked and managed by robots.
The Ministry’s stance is that all aspects of the reerdigung process, from the initial burial of the human remains in the tank to the eventual burial of the composted remains in a shroud, are unacceptable. This decision comes as a pilot project of the reerdigung method has been underway in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, but it remains to be seen how this new development will impact the future of funeral practices in the region.