(CNN) Washington has become the first state in the nation to pass a law allowing composting as an alternative to burial or cremation of human remains.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill Tuesday legalizing human composting. The bill will go into effect in May next year.

Currently in Washington, bodies can either be cremated or buried. The process of recomposition provides a third option that speeds up the process of turning dead bodies into soil, a practice colloquially known as "human composting." The bill describes the process as a "contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to soil."

The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Jamie Pedersen , said it is an environmentally friendly way of disposing of human remains.

"It's about time we apply some technology, allow some technology to be applied to this universal human experience ... because we think that people should have the freedom to determine for themselves how they'd like their body to be disposed of," he said.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signs a bill that allows licensed facilities to offer "natural organic reduction," which turns a body into soil in a span of several weeks.

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