nor education 9 min read

By TerraCare

What Is Regenerative Living Soil? What Families Receive After Terramation (colloquially referred to as human composting)

When a loved one chooses terramation — or when a family is exploring the option on their behalf — one of the most common questions is a quiet, wondering one: what exactly do we get at the end?

The answer is something genuinely meaningful. After natural organic reduction (NOR) — the process commercially known as terramation or natural organic reduction — families receive approximately one-half cubic yard of Regenerative Living Soil™. That is rich, dark, nutrient-dense soil — the result of the complete biological transformation of their loved one’s body. It is not ash. It is not a symbol. It is real, living soil that can nourish a garden, support a memorial tree, or be returned to the wild places that mattered most.

What is Regenerative Living Soil and what do families receive after terramation?

After terramation, families receive approximately one-half cubic yard of Regenerative Living Soil — dark, nutrient-rich, biologically active earth that is the complete transformation of their loved one's body. This is not ash; it is genuine fertile soil containing carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and beneficial microbes. Families can use it to plant a memorial tree, nourish a garden, scatter in a meaningful place, donate to conservation land, or divide among family members.

  • Families receive approximately one-half cubic yard of Regenerative Living Soil after terramation — roughly the volume of a large wheelbarrow load, enough to share among family members, plant multiple trees, and donate to conservation.
  • Unlike cremated remains (3–9 lbs of inert ash), terramation soil is biologically active, genuinely fertile, and immediately able to support plant growth — it is not a symbolic residue but real, living earth.
  • The soil is dark brown to near-black, smells like forest floor or finished compost, and crumbles gently — families consistently describe it as looking and feeling like something alive.
  • Families can plant trees, nourish gardens, scatter in meaningful outdoor locations, donate to conservation land restoration, or keep a portion at home in a sealed vessel.
  • The substantial volume — far more than cremation returns — means families can do multiple things with the soil, dividing it among siblings or planting in several locations their loved one cherished.

For many families, this is the part of terramation that moves them most. That is rich, dark, nutrient-dense soil — the result of the complete biological transformation of their loved one’s body. It is not ash. It is not a symbol. It is real, living soil that can nourish a garden, support a memorial tree, or be returned to the wild places that mattered most.

For many families, this is the part of terramation that moves them most.

What Regenerative Living Soil Actually Is

Regenerative Living Soil is the finished result of the NOR process. During terramation, the body is placed in a specially designed vessel — often called a Chrysalis™ — nestled in a bed of organic materials such as wood chips, straw, alfalfa, and wildflowers. Warm temperatures and carefully managed airflow support the natural microbial activity that has always returned living things to the earth. Over the course of several weeks to a few months, depending on the system, the body is fully and gently transformed.

What remains is not a chemical byproduct or a processed residue. It is genuine soil — rich in carbon, nitrogen, and the full spectrum of nutrients that were once part of a living person. It contains beneficial microbes that support plant life. Scientists who study soil health would recognize it immediately as something valuable: a stable, humus-rich amendment that most gardeners would be grateful to have.

In terms of process, NOR is most closely related to composting — both harness the power of microbes, moisture, and organic material to complete the natural cycle. But NOR is not backyard composting. It takes place in a controlled, temperature-monitored environment specifically designed for this purpose, with protocols that ensure the process is thorough, safe, and dignified.

For a deeper look at the biology behind this transformation, see our article on body composting science. For a full walkthrough of what happens during the process from beginning to end, see the terramation process explained.

How Much Soil Do Families Receive?

Families receive approximately one-half cubic yard of soil. To put that in physical terms: one-half cubic yard is about the size of a large, round wheelbarrow load, or what would fill three or four large garden pots.

This is a meaningful quantity. It is enough to:

  • Enrich a substantial section of a garden bed
  • Nourish several memorial trees or large shrubs
  • Be divided among family members, each taking a portion to use in their own way
  • Donate a significant amount to a land restoration project while still keeping some at home

The soil comes to families in a container and arrives looking like what it is: dark, earthy, and full of life. Many families describe a quiet moment of recognition when they see it — a sense that this is exactly what they hoped for.

How Regenerative Living Soil Differs from Cremated Remains

Many families ask how what they receive from terramation compares to what they would receive from cremation. The differences are real and significant.

Quantity: Flame cremation reduces a person to roughly three to nine pounds of powdered bone fragments — commonly called “ashes” or “cremated remains.” Terramation produces approximately one-half cubic yard of soil. The difference reflects the fundamental difference in how each process works: cremation burns away nearly everything; NOR converts the body into fertile material.

Appearance: Cremated remains are gray-white, chalky, and gritty — recognizably the product of high heat. Regenerative Living Soil is dark and rich, visually indistinguishable from high-quality garden compost. Many families find the appearance of the soil more comforting than that of ash.

What you can do with it: Cremated remains can be scattered, placed in an urn, or incorporated into memorial objects such as glass art or pressed gemstones. But because they are essentially powdered bone — high in calcium and phosphorus, with a pH that can actually inhibit plant growth — they are not truly fertile. Soil from terramation is genuinely nourishing to plants and can support new life in a literal, biological sense.

What it represents: Both are meaningful. But many families who choose terramation describe the soil as feeling more complete — as if the person has truly become part of the living world, rather than being reduced or preserved. This is not a judgment on cremation, which is a beautiful and dignified choice for millions of people. It is simply one of the reasons families are drawn to terramation when they encounter it.

For a fuller side-by-side comparison of the two options, see our article on terramation vs. cremation.

What Families Can Do with the Soil

This is often the question families sit with longest. There is no single right answer, and families are encouraged to think about what their loved one would have valued or found meaningful. Some of the most common choices:

Grow Something Living

Many families use some or all of the soil to plant a memorial garden, nourish a tree, or grow flowers their loved one loved. There is something quietly profound about a rose bush or apple tree growing in soil that carries the person forward. Some families plant together as a family ritual; others tend a small corner of the yard quietly, as their own form of ongoing remembrance.

Return It to a Wild Place

Soil from terramation can be scattered or spread in meaningful outdoor locations — a favorite forest trail, a stretch of beach, a mountain meadow. Before doing this on public or protected land, families should check state and local regulations, which vary. Some states and parks permit this freely; others require permission or have designated areas. Our article on scattering terramation soil covers the regulations and considerations in detail.

Some families choose to donate all or part of the soil to conservation land, reforestation projects, or community gardens. Several NOR providers maintain relationships with conservation organizations specifically to facilitate this. It is one of the ways terramation can extend beyond a single family’s grief into something larger — the repair and renewal of the natural world.

Divide and Share

Because one-half cubic yard is a substantial amount, families often choose to divide the soil — keeping some at home, sending some to a sibling in another city, and donating the rest. Unlike cremated remains, which families often divide into small quantities, terramation soil is plentiful enough for everyone who wants a portion to have one.

The Meaning of It

Families who have been through terramation often describe a particular kind of comfort in the soil that is hard to put into words but easy to recognize. The idea that a person does not disappear — does not go up in smoke or lie sealed in a vault — but instead becomes part of the living earth speaks to something deep in many of us.

For families who are drawn to this possibility, terramation offers something rare: an end-of-life choice that is genuinely consistent with a life lived close to the natural world. The soil is not a metaphor. It is real. And for many families, that reality is the beginning of a new kind of connection.

If you are exploring terramation for yourself or a loved one, our complete guide to natural organic reduction is a good place to start.

Ready to explore terramation options? Contact TerraCare Partners

Where Terramation Is Available

As of April 2026, NOR is legal in 14 states: Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California, New York, Nevada, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, Georgia, and New Jersey.

It is worth noting that not all of those states have active providers yet. California’s NOR providers are expected to begin operations on January 1, 2027. New York’s regulations are still being finalized. New Jersey anticipates having operational providers around July 2026.

For families in the states with active providers — and anyone who wants to find which services are nearest to them — our resource on states where NOR is currently legal is the best place to look.

Find a funeral home offering terramation in your state

Sources

  1. Washington State Department of Health — Natural Organic Reduction regulatory standards (WAC 246-500). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-500
  2. Washington State Legislature — SB 5001 (2019), the first law legalizing natural organic reduction in the United States. https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5001&Year=2019
  3. National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) — 2025 Cremation & Burial Report, including the national cremation rate of 63.4% and cremated remains weight data. https://nfda.org/news/statistics
  4. United States Composting Council — Educational resources on finished compost composition, beneficial microbes, and soil amendment standards. https://www.compostingcouncil.org/
  5. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service — Soil health resources describing carbon, nitrogen, and microbial activity in healthy soils. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/natural-resource-concerns/soils/soil-health
  6. Colorado General Assembly — SB 21-006 (2021), legalizing natural organic reduction in Colorado. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-006
  7. Keijzer, E. (2017). “The environmental impact of activities after life: life cycle assessment of funerals.” International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 22(5), 715–730. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-016-1183-9
  8. Oregon Legislative Assembly — HB 2574 (2021), legalizing natural organic reduction in Oregon. https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Measures/Overview/HB2574