Keep PA Beautiful Affiliates, Partners Collect Over 2 Million Pounds Of Electronic Waste, 29,900 Tires, 100,000 Pounds Of Household Chemicals In 2021

In 2021, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, its affiliates and partnering organizations collected a combined total of 2,201,881 pounds of electronics, 29,990 tires and 100,524 pounds of household hazardous waste. 

The recyclables were collected through a combination of one-day special collection events and permanent drop-off recycling centers. 

Nearly 2,400 volunteers helped make the events successful.  

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliates who offered one-day collections for their residents in 2021 include: Keep Cambria County Beautiful, Keep Erie County Beautiful, PA CleanWays of Fayette County, Keep Huntingdon County Beautiful, PA CleanWays of Mifflin County, Keep Perry County Beautiful and Tri-County CleanWays, serving Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties. 

PA CleanWays of Elk County, PA CleanWays of Venango County and Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling operate permanent drop-off recycling centers where residents can drop-off items. Contact the recycling center for items accepted and hours of operation. 

“These convenient, low cost options for disposing of tires, electronics and other recyclables are crucial to making certain that these items end up where they should and not over the hillside or in our landfills. I want to thank our affiliates for providing this valuable service to their communities, volunteers for helping to staff the collections and the residents for being responsible and making sure their items are disposed of properly,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.  

Many Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliates are able to keep their costs to their residents low by participating in the Department of Environmental Protections Household and Small Business Hazardous Waste Collection Program that provides partial funding for the responsible recycling of all items collected. 

The items collected are sent to DEP approved facilities for recycling. 

Tires are processed into rubber mulch, play turf, rubber asphalt roads and other items. 

The metal, plastic and glass are separated from the electronics and other recyclables and sold for reuse in items such as metal rebar, glass aggregate and plastic cell phones, laptops, and other equipment.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful works to increase the availability of convenient, affordable disposal for certain items, such as tires, electronics, household hazardous waste, pharmaceuticals, and appliances. 

For 2022 collection events near you, visit KPB’s Calendar of Events webpage. 

For more information about proper disposal in your area, contact your local Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Affiliate or County Recycling Coordinator by going to KPB’s Supplies & Resources webpage and choosing your county. 

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.

The 2022 Pick Up Pennsylvania Initiative will be held from March 1 through May 31.  Questions should be directed to Michelle Dunn at 1-877-772-3673 Ext. 113 or send email to: mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

Keep PA Beautiful helps mobilize over 100,000 volunteers a year to pick up litter, clean up illegal dumping and beautify Pennsylvania.

[Posted: February 25, 2022]  PA Environment Digest