4 S Idaho St, Seattle, WA 98134
Services
Recompose publishes a General Price List as required by the FTC Funeral Rule. The $7,000 base price is positioned as comparable to median cremation ($6,280) and below median traditional burial with casket ($8,300) per 2023 NFDA data. Ceremony services, shipping, and certified death certificates are additional. Staff do not earn commission.
The Recompose facility occupies an industrial location in Seattle's SODO neighborhood at 4 S Idaho St. The interior design deliberately contrasts with traditional funeral homes, featuring organic materials, living plants, and color palettes drawn from forest environments. Two distinct ceremony spaces are available: the Gathering Space, centered around a white hexagonal threshold vessel with AV capabilities for slideshows, and Cedar, a smaller room designed for home funeral-style practices including washing and shrouding. The Greenhouse contains 33 composting vessels in a large, climate-controlled space. Onsite cooled storage can shelter bodies for up to four weeks if needed.
Recompose offers a single core serviceāhuman compostingāwith transparent, all-inclusive pricing. The 8-12 week process involves placing the body in a vessel with wood chips, alfalfa, and straw, where naturally occurring microbes transform it into soil. Families receive updates at key stages and can choose how much soil to keep, share, or donate.
Recompose operates from an industrial area of Seattle that has been transformed into what families describe as a 'spa-like' sanctuary. The facility centers on the Greenhouse, housing 33 hexagonal stainless steel vessels where human composting occurs. Founder Katrina Spade spent over a decade developing the process before opening in 2017, the same year Washington State became the first to legalize human composting. The space features floor-to-ceiling windows in shades of green and yellow, forest tapestries, and design elements intended to evoke being in a forest rather than a traditional funeral home.
The funeral home has served over 500 families since opening and was voted Best Funeral Home in the Pacific Northwest in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Staff emphasize that they do not work on commission and will not upsell families. Services are available to residents of all 50 states, with transportation coordinated through local funeral homes for those outside Washington State and the Portland metro area.
Laura was a terrific tour guide through the inner workings of such an admirable organization and service - Recompose. Laura had a very natural ease with the presentation and was very present with all of us in the group. The tour itself was excellent - just enough time in the diff...
Recompose has a good concept going with human composting, but I have to agree with another reviewer that Recompose should not promote using wood (which is not sustainable whether it's reclaimed or not). A better alternative might be growing and using bamboo for that front desk an...
Laura is a lovely host and informed guide for Recompose. This process is incredible and fully aligned with nature! Not only can we return to the Earth a bit of the resources we used during our lives through composting our bodies, the Recompose company is working sustainably to bu...
I was really glad to get a free tour at Recompose, I feel inspired by this new earth-friendly process, and was thrilled to come away with enough knowledge to explain how it works to others. We all need to be planning for the inevitable. A beautiful space with good vibes.
All the serendipity and synchronicity led me and my friend on a lovely tour. Laura and Alissa were extremely knowledgeable and answered all our questions. I first heard Katrina's TED talk years ago and have been following her work via the monthly emails ever since. It was so spec...
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