By Ernie Harbott

You’d have to be living under a rock to have missed all the media and social media interest in the first laws to pass in Australia to allow human composting. In a rare occurrence, the bill raced through the NSW lower and upper houses with unanimous votes in each house. The private member’s bill by independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich passed parliament’s upper house last week, clearing the way for human body composting to begin in specially designed facilities in NSW.

Greenwich isn’t the only MP to embrace Human Composting – several MPs admitted they want their own bodies turned into soil after they die too. Human Composting, only legal in one part of Germany and 14 US states, will become possible in NSW from 2028. NSW authorities will spend the next two years finessing various regulations before composting begins. This is all thanks to the passion and determination of the founder of Earthly Legacy, Teresa Russell.

When LOCCAL became aware of Teresa’s advocacy, we invited her to speak at our monthly meeting back in August. Teresa was initially interested in the environmental sustainability of human composting through reduced carbon emissions and transforming bodies into soil amendment that could regenerate degraded land. However, when Teresa started looking into the death industry, she was shocked to discover that for those who can’t afford the cost of a funeral, ‘funeral poverty’, is a real thing. People are being forced to choose cremation because it is the cheaper of the two options presented in NSW at present and not because it is particularly aligned with their values or preferences. To correct this injustice and to provide equity for those in the lowest socioeconomic brackets, Teresa founded Earthly Legacy as a non-profit organisation that will charge a fair price for Human Composting to those who can afford it and direct all profits and donated funds to compost financially disadvantaged people.

Human Composting methods vary depending on the provider, but the process involves a body being placed in a “vessel” packed with organic plant material such as lucerne, hay and sawdust. After a month, most of the soft tissue in the body has broken down and only bones and medical implants remain uncomposted. The bones are removed and ground down before being returned to the mix for the second ‘curing’ phase. After several more weeks, part or all of the one cubic metre of compost will be given to families for memorialisation purposes such as digging into gardens or planting trees, or Earthly Legacy will find soil partners and donate unwanted or excess compost to projects that are regenerating degraded land . . . providing that the NSW regulations will allow it.

Learn more about the Media coverage of historic vote to allow human composting in NSW — earthly legacy.

Teresa has special permission from Jay-Jay Gerber, the director/producer of The Life We Leave, an award-winning documentary about the founding of Return Home, which was the biggest human composting facility to open in the USA once laws changed in Washington State. Go to Movement Content to hire this movie for AUD$12.50. The link only works for people located in Australia and is only available for the next two months. The cost of the rental goes directly to the film makers who did a wonderful job with such a sensitive and private topic.

If you support the idea of Human Composting and want to help Teresa provide it as a genuine option for all people in the community, please visit the Earthly Legacy webpage. Every donation brings them closer to achieving their mission to minimise both the financial and environmental cost of deathcare in Australia.

Join LOCCAL as we welcome Teresa Russell to our monthly Compost Conversations in December. Teresa will speak about her experience advocating for human death composting and equitable access to it. If you register, you will have the opportunity to ask Teresa your questions.

Date: Monday 7 December 2026
Time: 8:15–9:00 pm AEDT
Location: Online
Hosted by: The Local Community Compost Alliance (LOCCAL)

Register here: Compost Conversations: Human Composting Approved in NSW