Keep PA Beautiful Great PA Cleanup: 141,264 Volunteers, 6.7 Million Pounds Of Trash
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful announced Wednesday 141,264 volunteers collected over 6.7 million pounds of trash at 4,421 cleanup events during the 2012 Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Great American Cleanup of PA.
This annual event is in partnership with support from the Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, and partnering agencies and local businesses including the American Chemistry Council, Pennsylvania Beverage Association, Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, Republic Services, and Steel Recycling Institute.
All 67 counties participated in this annual community improvement event.
In total, there were 4,421 events with 141,264 volunteers. Volunteers collected 338,148 bags, or 6,762,960 pounds of trash. They cleaned 13,589 miles of roads, railroad tracks, trails, waterways, and shorelines, and 14,046 acres of park and/or wetlands. Additionally, volunteers planted 22,511 trees, bulbs, and plants in an effort to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.
“We are so grateful to the more than 140,000 volunteers that pitched in to help keep Pennsylvania beautiful.” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “It is their commitment to community stewardship that makes this program successful year after year.”
The 2012 Great American Cleanup of PA began on March 1st and ended on May 31st. During this period, events registered through the event website received free bags, gloves, and vests from PennDOT District offices.
Events included litter cleanups, illegal dump cleanups, beautification projects, special collections, and educational events.
As part of this event, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association sponsored Let’s Pick It Up PA – Everyday. During the Pick It Up PA Days, registered events were able to take the trash collected during their cleanup to participating landfills for free disposal. The Let’s Pick It Up PA – Everyday event began on April 21st and ended on May 7th. The focus day was April 21st.
Since the inception of this event in 2004, over 68 million pounds of litter and waste have been removed from Pennsylvania’s landscape, and tens of thousands of trees, bulbs, and flowers have been planted.
The Great American Cleanup of PA is sponsored by Keep America Beautiful. The 2012 national sponsors were The Dow Chemical Company, Gatorade, Glad Trash Bags, LG, Nestlé Pure Life Purified Water, Pepsi-Cola Company, Solo Cup Company, Troy-Bilt, Waste Management, and Wrigley’s.
A copy of the 2012 Great American Cleanup of PA final report is available online.