Daily Junction Play
753watching now
DW Documentary •16 Sep 2026 50 here now

Eco-burial - Would you consider being composted? | DW Documentary

An increasing number of people don't want to be cremated or buried after their death. They want their bodies to return to the earth as fertile soil. This poses both an ethical and a legal challenge.

For You

Because of what you watch

Comments (20)

Daily Junction discussion mixed with clearly attributed comments from the original video provider.

Join in — free. Comments on Daily Junction are for members, so real names stay rare and bots stay out.

One field. We email you a 6-digit code — no password needed. Your comment is kept while you do it.

Under 13? You’ll need a parent’s OK first — it takes them one click.

@
Composing in nature is a best idea
@
Surely this process is happening to bodies buried in coffins?
@
I've seen an Islamic burial before, they got it right. The washed body of the deceased is wrapped in a white cloth and buried on it's side while facing Mecca; usually after the mid-day prayer. No chemicals no embalming no wooden caskets, from earth and back to earth.
@
Interesting...you say a cemetery is sacred ground...but appear to have no concept of where your soul goes. Why,then, would anything be sacred??
@
Such a beautiful idea 👌👌
@
I always wanted this
@
Many, many cultures or religions have been burying their loved ones like this, without a coffin, directly into the ground.. stop selling it as a new thing.
@
This is the right way.
@
@pp-jb7yf From YouTube ↗ 19 Sep 2026 1
I'm ready❤
@
I am from India...My brother in law expired recently and his body was creamated in rural area.The people who attended the funeral were asked to put a mixture of seeds with their two hands full and put in the pit.Later on lots of shoots emerged in that area.I learned that it was a very old custom from many centuries.
@
We burried My Aunt's body directly into the soil with some special type of leaves on her face in southern part of India.
@
Oh my god I didn't know this process
@
I'm so grateful for all of these people working so hard to make this work and make it into the mainstream. I really hope I can be composted when my time comes.
@
fantastic program now I know how I want to be burried when my times come.
@
This is how I want to end. But i will leave it up to my family. I will mention it to them tho.
@
14:04 correction anaerobic decomposition is faster than composting or aerobic decomposition
@
Thank you.
@
the happiest, most physically comfortable moment of my life, and therefore psychologically at peace;
Was in the Amazon rainforest, on a little mountain, it was so hot, yet drizzling warm mist for DAYS
the earth was warm and brown with life and humidity, the plants were so dark green . that was when I was 10, and to this day, I want to figure out, how to die there when I am older
to become soil and flowers and colorful amazon insects. to return to the womb of nature
@
@gerry343 From YouTube ↗ 17 Sep 2026 12
I'd not heard of this until a radio program in UK last week. It seems a very reasonable way to dispose of human bodies and return them to nature.
@
The body is borrowed. Life is shared.
Death is not the end.