Ashes to Ashes: Modern and Sustainable Farewell Options
- Nicki Tofler
- Sep 3, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 15, 2025
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…" These timeless words remind us of life’s natural cycle, and the importance of finding a meaningful way to say goodbye.
Do you have your loved one’s ashes sitting on a shelf and wonder how best to honour their life? Or perhaps your loved one had a private cremation, and you feel you didn’t get the closure you needed. A memorial service or ash scattering ceremony can provide that moment—a chance to gather, reflect, and celebrate a life well lived.
Why Hold an Ash Scattering or Memorial Service?
An ash scattering ceremony is more than the physical act of releasing ashes—it’s a powerful ritual of remembrance. It creates space to share stories, play favourite music, and mark your loved one’s journey in a way that feels authentic.
As a Sydney funeral celebrant, I work alongside funeral directors and families to ensure every farewell is dignified, meaningful, and deeply personal. With the right support, you can plan a service that reflects the values, personality, and spirit of your loved one.
Modern Options for Ashes and Memorials
Traditionally, ashes were kept in an urn or interred in a cemetery niche. Today, families are exploring new and creative ways to honour loved ones:
Fireworks: Some families choose to incorporate a loved one’s ashes into fireworks, creating a spectacular tribute in the night sky. While this option requires specialist providers and approval, it can be a breathtaking way to symbolise release and celebration.
Planting a Tree: Ashes can be mixed with soil or placed in biodegradable urns that nurture new life, creating a living legacy in the form of a tree or garden.
Memorial Jewellery: A small portion of ashes can be transformed into pendants, rings, or glass art, offering a tangible way to keep someone close.
Shared Keepsakes: Ashes can be divided among family members in mini urns, lockets, or ornaments, allowing each person to hold a personal connection.
Ecological and Sustainable Farewells
With increasing awareness around environmental impact, many families are now considering eco-friendly memorials and body disposition methods. These approaches reflect a growing desire to leave a legacy that honours both the person and the planet.
Natural Burials: Instead of traditional embalming and coffins, natural burials return the body to the earth in a biodegradable shroud or coffin, allowing for full decomposition and regeneration of the land.
Body Composting (Terramation): An emerging practice overseas, this method gently transforms the body into nutrient-rich soil over several weeks. While not yet common in Australia, it highlights the future of sustainable funerals.
Water Cremation (Aquamation): Using water instead of fire, this process is considered gentler on the environment, though it’s not yet widely available in Sydney.
Biodegradable Urns: Designed to dissolve naturally, these urns can be placed in soil or the ocean, leaving no long-term footprint.
Cost Considerations and Practical Realities
Traditional burials can be costly, with cemetery plots in Sydney often reaching tens of thousands of dollars due to limited land availability. Families are increasingly turning to cremation and alternative memorials, not only for flexibility and personalisation but also for affordability.
An ash scattering ceremony can be tailored to fit different budgets—from a simple family gathering at the beach to a fully personalised event with music, readings, and a celebrant-led service. This flexibility allows families to create something meaningful without the financial strain of a traditional burial.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can you scatter ashes?
Popular choices include beaches, rivers, bushland, private gardens, or family property. Some families return to a favourite holiday spot. In Sydney and across NSW, scattering in public places such as beaches or parks may require council approval, while cemeteries and memorial gardens have designated areas for interment.
Do you need permission?
Yes, sometimes. Always check local regulations or ask your funeral director or celebrant for guidance. On private land, the landowner’s consent is required.
What are the different options?
Interring ashes in a cemetery plot, memorial wall, or garden.
Scattering at a meaningful location such as the ocean, a forest walk, or family property.
Sharing ashes among loved ones in smaller keepsake urns, jewellery, or ornaments.
Creative memorials such as fireworks, memorial glass, or tree planting.
How should the service be structured?
A memorial service can follow a familiar format with readings, eulogies, prayers, or music—or it can be simple and intimate. A celebrant-led service ensures your ceremony flows smoothly, blending compassion with structure.
How can we celebrate afterwards?
Many families gather for a meal, share stories, or create a memory book or tribute video. This time together often brings comfort and helps strengthen connections.
Final Thoughts
Saying goodbye doesn’t mean letting go—it’s about creating a farewell that honours love, life, and legacy. Whether you choose to scatter ashes in Sydney’s natural beauty, plant a tree as a living memorial, explore modern eco-friendly options, or hold a structured Celebration of Life ceremony, the most important thing is that it feels true to your loved one.
If you’re unsure where to begin, simply reach out to me here on my website and I can guide you through every step of memorial service planning, helping you create an authentic, healing, and memorable farewell.
