(WSJ) – There is a looming crisis in America’s death industry. Green-Wood Cemetery might have found a lifeline.

The storied 478-acre Brooklyn burial ground, like many across the U.S., is running out of room for new occupants. With the help of a German entrepreneur, cemetery officials believe they can profitably augment the property by turning loved ones into gardening soil.

The process, called natural organic reduction, uses the body’s own bacteria to transform human tissue. The dead are placed in a sealed vessel bedded with clover, hay and straw and equipped to regulate airflow, temperature and moisture. Then nature takes its course. Microbes break down everything but bones, which are ground into the final compost mix. (Read More)