Aquamation vs Cremation: Understanding Your Options

For many years, flame cremation was the main alternative to burying a pet in the back garden. Today, water-based aquamation offers another choice. Both give you your pet's ashes to keep, scatter or memorialise, so the decision often comes down to how each process works and what matters most to you.

How each process works

Flame cremation places your pet in a chamber heated to very high temperatures by gas burners. The body is reduced by fire, and the remaining bone fragments are processed into ashes.

Aquamation (alkaline hydrolysis) places your pet in warm, gently moving water with an alkaline solution. Over several hours, soft tissues are broken down into natural compounds, leaving only the bone minerals, which are dried and reduced to a fine powder.

The key differences

• Method: cremation uses flame; aquamation uses water, warmth and alkalinity.
• Energy: aquamation uses significantly less energy. Figures cited in government and industry sources range from around one-eighth of the energy of a flame cremator to around 90% less.
• Emissions: flame cremation releases carbon dioxide and other gases into the air. Aquamation produces no smoke and no direct air emissions.
• Ashes: aquamation ashes are usually whiter and softer in texture, and more of them are returned, because no bone is lost to the flame.
• Time: a cremation cycle is typically a few hours; an aquamation cycle takes longer, usually 4 to 20 hours depending on the equipment and pet size. From collection to return, the overall timeframe is similar. At Ripple it is typically 3 to 5 business days.

Is one more respectful than the other?

Both can be carried out with great care and dignity. What matters most is choosing a provider you trust: one who handles your pet individually, explains the process openly, and can tell you exactly how your pet is identified and tracked. Do not be afraid to ask these questions. A good provider will be glad you did.

Questions to ask any provider

• Is my pet processed individually, or with other animals?
• How is my pet identified and tracked throughout?
• How long will it take, and how will I be kept informed?
• Can you collect my pet from home or from my vet?
• What urn and keepsake options are available?

Making the choice that feels right

There is no wrong answer. Some families choose aquamation because it feels gentler; others because of its lower environmental impact; others simply because they like that more ashes are returned. Whatever you decide, the most important thing is that the choice feels right for you and your pet.