Kapiti Coast councillors have voted for tighter restrictions on the scattering of human ashes in the region.
Kapiti Island, as seen from Waikanae Beach Photo: Dan Cederholm / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The district council is hoping the restrictions will stop people from spreading them in public spaces, such as beaches, playing fields, rose gardens or areas of cultural concern.
The council's website already states that scattering ashes in public places is not permitted.
Kapiti Coast District Council open spaces manager Nico Crous said the bylaw's purpose was to get the public to think about others before they scattered ashes.
Mr Crous said the bylaw was not a ban, but light-handed regulation.
"We want to bring it to the attention of the public that, yes, we're OK with ashes scattering, but please don't do it indiscriminately, come and have a chat to us.
"That's all we're really asking, come and have a chat to us so that we can give some advice, we can give some guidance on where it is OK to do that."
Mr Crous said the council would work with local funeral directors to help manage the scattering of ashes.
Earlier this year, several iwi said they should be consulted on where ashes could be scattered to avoid it happening in sacred areas or places were seafood was gathered.
