According to WYPR, a public radio station serving Maryland, the state is now home to what is described as the nation's largest human composting facility: a 37,000-square-foot facility in Elkridge operated by Earth Funeral. The facility uses a process formally known as natural organic reduction, offering an alternative to conventional burial and cremation.Human composting may sound unusual, but the basic idea is rooted in the natural decomposition of organic material. The facility was designed to make the service more accessible to people on the East Coast, who previously may have had to transport remains long distances to reach a human composting facility. Cremation eliminates the need for a burial plot but relies on combustion and produces emissions.Natural organic reduction takes a different approach by allowing the body to return to the natural material cycle. Washington became the first state to legalise natural organic reduction in 2019, and Maryland is among a growing number of states that have since approved it.