A huge "human composting" site just opened outside D.C., bringing a fast-growing green burial alternative close to home.

Why it matters: Maryland legalized human composting two years ago, paving the way for Earth Funeral to open one of the world's largest facilities — giving East Coast families access to a process that often required transporting loved ones across the country.

The big picture: Human composting — formally known as "natural organic reduction" — transforms corpses into nutrient-rich soil using natural materials.

• Born in Washington state about a decade ago, it's gaining traction as an alternative to traditional burial and cremation.

Zoom in: The new Elkridge facility spans 36,000 square feet with 56 composting vessels.

• CEO Tom Harries tells Axios they want to double capacity and plan to serve more than 2,000 families annually.
• Earth Funeral has operated on the West Coast for years, but Harries says East Coast demand has surged for its service, which takes about 45 days.

What they're saying: "A lot of people just don't resonate with the existing options," Harries tells Axios.

• Burial — costly and land-intensive — accounted for roughly 80% of deaths in the 1990s but could fall closer to 20% within the next decade, he says.
• Cremation has filled much of that gap, but many families are looking for something that feels more personal, ecological or spiritually meaningful.

Driving the trend: Environmental concerns, lower costs and changing attitudes around death.

• Earth Funeral says its all-inclusive services average just under $6,000 — cheaper than burial, comparable to cremation.
• Families can use the resulting soil (roughly 300 pounds) for memorial gardens and beyond, or donate it to conservation projects.

The intrigue: Retired Air Force Col. Dave Buermeyer tells Axios he came across Earth Funeral while estate planning, and will lobby Arlington National Cemetery to allow composted remains.

• Some cemeteries allow composted remains, "but Arlington is a different beast," he says — time-consuming and stringent.
• He envisions Arlington someday creating a "scatter field" for composted remains — an idea he says could help relieve long-term land and maintenance pressures.
• "Environmentally, it's head and shoulders over any other method that I've ever heard of," Buermeyer says.

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Memorial Day weekend is approaching, which means, yes, the start of summer, but also the start of summer travel traffic.

Why it matters: This holiday weekend is expected to set a record for domestic travel, with 45 million Americans traveling, per AAA. Plan your trip wisely.

The big picture: This comes even as gas and plane ticket prices soar due to the Iran war.

• Most holiday weekend fliers booked trips before prices jumped, says AAA.

State of play: Washington-area traffic is expected to hit peak congestion tomorrow at 4:15pm on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway headed out of D.C., says AAA.

• Travel time from D.C. to Baltimore will jump to an estimated 1 hour and 56 minutes — a 116% increase.

Nationally, the worst time to head home will be Monday afternoon.

• Sunday is expected to be the country's lightest traffic day.

And if you're snagging a rental car, tomorrow and Friday are expected to be the busiest times for pickups, per info Hertz shared with AAA.

Travel hacks: Maryland has a list of best and worst times to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge this weekend for those headed to the water.

• And it has live Bay Bridge traffic cams.

Plus: Virginia will lift most lane closures during the long weekend.

• VA also has a map showing expected peak congestion times for drivers.

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Mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George is facing criticism for praising Council member Trayon White, who's facing a bribery trial. At his birthday party last weekend, Lewis George said White has been a "mentor" since joining the council, and noted "the way he has shown up for this city."

• Her campaign chairman defended JLG's words, saying "Ward 8 re-elected Trayon White," and that she's showing "human leadership."

🤢 Residents near the Potomac River spill site say they can still smell sewage, four months after the pipe collapse. "I still want to know why it smells," one person said at a town hall meeting.

• DC Water's CEO will testify to Congress today about the cleanup efforts. (NBC4)

🏨 Ahead of July 4 weekend, hotel bookings are up in downtown, between 10-28 percentage points higher than this time last year. (WBJ)

🌡️ Two D.C. schools — Ballou High and Cardozo — closed yesterday because their HVAC systems couldn't cool down the building. (WTOP)

Dominion Energy plans to merge with Florida-based NextEra Energy to create the world's largest electricity company.

The big picture: The energy giants' merger lands amid soaring electricity demand, driven largely by AI and data centers.

• It would give NextEra a foothold in Virginia, the data center capital of the world, where electricity sales are growing at twice the national rate.
• The companies announced their prospective 10 million combined customers would benefit from increased scale and efficiency.

The deal has to be approved by regulators.

The intrigue: As part of the merger, NextEra is proposing $2.25 billion in electric bill credits, spread over two years, for Dominion customers — with 79% going to Virginia customers, per an investor presentation.

• That breaks down to around a $27-a-month credit that locals could expect for 24 months.

Context: Dominion customers' bills rose by an average of $11.24 at the start of the year and are expected to rise again this year.

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Soft serve margaritas are blowing up on TikTok, and now D.C. can finally get a taste IRL.

Why it matters: Aperol spritzes, so last three years — we're ready for this new "drink of summer."

Driving the news: Taqueria Xochi is serving tequila-spiked soft serve margs at its Navy Yard and Arlington spots in classic lime and strawberry-morita flavors.

• The dairy-free treats are like margaritas meet sorbet — light, airy and (optional) drizzled with chamoy, the sweet-savory Mexican fruit sauce.
• They're $16 a pop, with rotating flavors like mango-chile and watermelon-Tajín on deck.

Zoom in: Soft serve margs are smoother and creamier than your standard frozen marg, often thanks to coconut or dairy additions and the airy soft-serve spin — less icy slush, more boozy cloud.

Yes, but: Don't call 'em spiked ice cream. Though we'd happily chase one with Max's Best ice cream martinis on a hot day.