San Joaquin River Parkway Trust complies with Fresno County’s cease and desist over human composting

The San Joaquin River Parkway Trust will no longer use human compost on its 76-acre property in Fresno County. The deal ends a nearly year-long partnership with Earth Funerals.

“It’s a more environmentally friendly way to care for someone after they die,” said Sharon Weaver, executive director of the San Joaquin River Parkway Trust.

According to Earth Funerals, this alternative involves a 45-day process in which a body is transformed into nutrient-rich soil.

“It has all the normal components of compost. We do a test on every load. Earth Funeral has to do a lot of testing on its site to make sure it meets the regulations,” Weaver said.

“It’s still illegal and safe or dangerous; people still have a right to know,” Fresno City Council member Nick Richardson said.

According to the San Joaquin River Parkway Trust, it acquired the Sumner Peck Ranch in December 2020, funded in part by a grant from the San Joaquin River Conservancy from the state of California.

Last month, the River Parkway Trust received a letter from the San Joaquin River Conservancy stating that the Trust could no longer use human composting on its property – with a 30-day deadline to remove the compost from its site.

“We were in the process of responding to that letter when this whole thing started this week,” Weaver said.

On Wednesday, the Trust received a cease and desist letter from the Conservancy.

“It’s been a week and a half since we got that letter, so we feel like they jumped the gun a little bit; we hadn’t even had a chance to respond to that letter yet before they escalated the situation,” Weaver said.

At a March 5 news conference, San Joaquin River Conservancy board members said the San Joaquin River Parkway Trust uses human composting along the river off Friant Road in Fresno County.

RELATED: Human Composting Allegations Made Against the San Joaquin River Parkway Trust

The expansive property includes a half-mile of San Joaquin River frontage and wildlife habitat as well as farmland in Fresno County.

“This is not human waste, but human remains turned into compost and placed in the ground,” said Garry Bredefeld, president of the San Joaquin River Conservancy.

The River Parkway Trust said that despite the deliveries received from Earth Funerals over the past year, the decision to comply with the cease and desist letter would not be difficult.

“Each delivery is scheduled separately. We don’t have any scheduled at the moment, so it’s not a problem to say ‘No problem,'” Weaver said.

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