Practicalities of scattering ashes

LegacyUser

Bit of a strange question but hoping someone can give me some advice based on their own experience.

My family and I will be scattering the ashes of a relative in the near future and a question has been raised over what to do with the empty casket that holds the ashes afterwards. Can anyone tell me what is usual to do with this? Is it generally kept in the house or buried?

Any opinions would be great.
Thanks.

Sarah W

My mother and I scattered my grandmother's ashes in Tramore earlier this year (half in the sea and half on her brother's grave) and we put the container in a wheelie bin at Dublin airport! The cardboard containers are biodegradable so can be buried if you prefer not to scatter.

Dizzyblonde

We'll be scattering some of my aunt's ashes in the sea next week (the rest were put in my grandparents' grave) and I assume we'll throw the plastic container in the bin afterwards. As far as I'm concerned, what we're doing is symbolic because my aunt has passed on and what we do with the container isn't important.
If you feel bad about throwing the container away, you could always bury it in your garden - with notes from the family inside. We put our notes into the grave with the other part of the ashes.

Lord Nikon

One tip while scattering, check the wind direction first. Sounds funny but it happened to people I know and it did not turn out funny, trust me.

Monkey61

neuromancer wrote: »

One tip while scattering, check the wind direction first. Sounds funny but it happened to people I know and it did not turn out funny, trust me.

True story -except we found it hilarious. We still end up in stitches remembering the day my mum and her sisters scattered their dad's ashes without thinking about the wind. Ashes in their hair, all over their clothes, in their eyes. We have a video somewhere of the group of them on the day crying their eyes out yet p*ssing themselves laughing at the same time. Definitely something to be warned about.

No problem in just throwing the container away really. But the burial idea sounds lovely if you would prefer that.

LegacyUser

Monkey61 wrote: »

True story -except we found it hilarious. We still end up in stitches remembering the day my mum and her sisters scattered their dad's ashes without thinking about the wind. Ashes in their hair, all over their clothes, in their eyes. We have a video somewhere of the group of them on the day crying their eyes out yet p*ssing themselves laughing at the same time. Definitely something to be warned about.

No problem in just throwing the container away really. But the burial idea sounds lovely if you would prefer that.

Aww! You can definitely say their dad got the last laugh!

I have no idea what happened to the container of my mother's ashes after we scattered them. It never even occurred to me to ask my father. I assume he just threw it away... after all, I don't really think it's much use - the ashes are gone and it's the memories which should be held onto. The container really had nothing to do with the person's life. Do you really want to hold onto something that contained someone after their death? However I do like the idea of burying it with notes from loved ones. It's all biodegradeable and is a nice thought.

pinkypinky

I think my aunt used my grandmother's as a plant pot holder....It was much bigger than we were expecting, for such a little woman. We scattered her into a stream in the Wicklow mountains. It was lovely.