PA Environmental Council Continues Clean Up Work In Northeast PA

Statistics from this spring’s illegal dumpsite cleanups in Susquehanna and Wayne counties have been tabulated and the numbers are quite impressive!

Palmira Miller, program coordinator in PA Environmental Council’s Northeast office, certainly had a busy season organizing and cleaning up illegal dumpsites in the two counties with the help of many partners and volunteers.

Palmira geared up for the spring clean up season with numerous meetings and lots of research from January through March.

She was busy reviewing the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Illegal Dumpsite surveys that were completed for our project area counties and were used to make connections and to reach out to local municipalities, county commissioners, conservation districts, recycling centers, watershed groups, school districts, local businesses, and many others for assistance in planning our spring clean up schedule.

Here’s a look at the dumpsite cleanup statistics from the spring:

— 15 illegal dumpsites were cleaned up;

— Removed and properly disposed of 10.79 tons of trash;

— Recycled 5.7 tons of scrap metal;

— Recycled 21.93 tons of tires;

— 253 volunteers worked 1,136 hours; and

— One contractor cleaned up two sites that were too hazardous for volunteers.

Illegal dumping of waste not only negatively impacts the environment, but also degrades the character of our neighborhoods and the quality of life for our local residents. Dumpsites know no bounds and include state game lands, state forests, state parks, waterways of all sizes, private property, and county and municipal lands.

Illegally dumped trash is a detriment to the water quality of local streams and rivers and can reduce drainage of runoff due to blockage of streams, culverts, and drainage basins, and can lead to flooding and channel modification. Economically, property values decrease as a result of illegal dumping which affects the local tax base.

Along with ruining the beauty of natural areas, illegal dumping pollutes our soil, surface, and groundwater supplies, as well as the air we breathe.

Consider coming out to help your community by cleaning up these sites!

For more information, contact Janet Sweeney by sending email to: jsweeney@pecpa.org or call 570-718-6507.

(Reprinted from the PEC Blog.)