Keep PA Beautiful Friday reported 108,638 volunteers participated in 5,362 events picking up over 5 million pounds of trash during the 2018 Great American Cleanup of PA, which ran from March 1 through the end of May.
Organized groups, civic organizations, families and friends took to Pennsylvania parks, streambanks, trails and roadsides to reclaim communities by picking trash and planting 10,979 flowers, bulbs and other plants in an effort to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.
As in years past, all 67 counties participated in this annual community improvement event.
“We are so grateful for the ongoing participation of our local community groups, volunteers and affiliates who coordinate cleanup, beautification and collection events for our residents of Pennsylvania year after year during our Great American Cleanup of PA event,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “The contribution of everyone’s time and energy towards keeping our communities clean, healthy and beautiful is appreciated beyond words.
“We also want to thank our sponsors, Business Council members, volunteers, local municipalities and local businesses who donated goods and services or made a monetary donation,” added Reiter. “Without these partnerships and the tireless work of the volunteers the Great American Cleanup of PA would not be possible.”
Some examples of just a few of the community-based projects include--
-- Scranton Tomorrow’s Adopt a Planter beautification initiative involved 100 residents who planted 500 flowers in Scranton’s core business district. “We very much appreciate Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful for the support and materials,” said Leslie Collins, Executive Director of Scranton Tomorrow. Scranton Tomorrow has been a Great American Cleanup of PA participant since 2014.
-- Twenty community volunteers joined Partnership for the Delaware Estuary to clean up 26 bags of trash from Miles Mack Playground on North 36th Street and the surrounding West Philadelphia neighborhood.
-- Ten municipalities in Northampton County - Bushkill, Forks, Lower Nazareth, Moore, Nazareth, Palmer, Plainfield, Stockertown, Tatamy, and Upper Nazareth - worked together to provide an electronics collection for their residents where 59,087 pounds of electronics, 2,895 appliances, 800 pounds of steel and aluminum and over 1,000 pounds of miscellaneous items were collected for proper disposal.
In 2018, this annual event was held in partnership with support from the Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, PA Food Merchants Association, PA Waste Industries Association, Sheetz, ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer, Wawa, Inc., Weis Markets, Inc., BioHiTech, Giant Food Stores, Inc., Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, Mahantango, Republic Services, Steel Recycling Institute and Wegmans.
Click Here for the 2018 Final Report. Click Here for a breakdown by county.
2019 Coming Fast
Registration for the 2019 Great American Cleanup of PA will open in January. During this period, events registered through webpage will receive free bags, gloves, and vests from PennDOT District offices, as supplies last.
As part of this event, the Department of Environmental Protection and the PA Waste Industries Association will sponsor Let’s Pick It Up PA – Everyday from Saturday, April 13 through May 6.
During Pick It Up PA Days, registered events will be able to take the trash collected during their cleanup to participating landfills for free or reduced cost.
To inquire about becoming a 2019 Great American Cleanup of PA sponsor, contact the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful office at 724-836-4121.
For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website. Click Here to become a member. Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, Discover them on Pinterest and visit their YouTube Channel.
Also visit the Illegal Dump Free PA website for more ideas on how to clean up communities and keep them clean and KPB’s Electronics Waste website.
(Photo: Scranton Tomorrow Adopt A Planter; West Philly Litter Cleanup.)
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