Conveniently Green: Westmoreland County Funeral Home To Offer Green Funerals

The latest trend in going green is coming to Pittsburgh, and you can find it at a Westmoreland County funeral home. The Saloom Funeral Home in Mount Pleasant is going to begin offering green burials this weekend. Only three other cemeteries on the East Coast, in New York, South Carolina and Florida, offer these kinds of burials.

Rick Rega, the supervisor of the funeral home, spoke to Channel 4 Action News? Kelly Frey about the new service.

?The whole premise of the eco-friendly or green funeral is that the person themselves do not want any foreign chemicals in their body. And that?s their request, they want everything all natural,? said Rega.

Those who choose a green funeral can be buried or cremated without being embalmed, unless an open casket is preferred for the funeral.

The funeral home will offer caskets made out of bamboo, as opposed to hardwood or bronze caskets. Cremated remains will be placed in a biodegradable bag, or even an urn made out of papier-m