Trash travels, keep litter out of our waterways

Registration is Open for Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s ‘Pick Up Pennsylvania’

Registration is open for the 2019 Pick Up Pennsylvania, a fall cleanup program supporting the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful invites individuals, families, friends, civic organizations and businesses to coordinate a cleanup or join an existing cleanup to remove litter from our neighborhoods and local waterways to prevent it from reaching our oceans.

A significant portion of waterway pollution originates on land. When it rains, trash on sidewalks and streets accumulates and is swept into storm drains. Most storm drain systems discharge directly into the nearest creek or river, eventually flowing to the ocean taking all the trash with it. To prevent litter from ending up in our waterways, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful coordinates Pick Up Pennsylvania, in support of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, from September 1 through October 31.

In a recent cleanup, CleanScapes, a Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliate serving Clinton and Lycoming counties, worked with Sunken Treasure Scuba Center and loyal community volunteers to remove 27 tires and 955 pounds of trash from the West Branch Susquehanna River. After the event CleanScapes Project Director Elisabeth Lynch McCoy stated, “We’ve partnered with Sunken Treasure since 2004 and we couldn’t complete these projects without the scuba diving team and boaters. So far we’ve completed 51 river cleanups and removed over 6,500 tires and 87 tons of trash. Our goal is to have the cleanest waterways in Pennsylvania and we’re almost there!”

As the largest volunteer effort aimed at improving the health of our oceans, the International Coastal Cleanup, engages hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world to remove millions of pounds of plastics and debris from inland areas and waterways.

“Whether you are cleaning up a local waterway, your local park or the street that you live on – it all makes a difference in the amount of litter reaching our oceans. We are proud to provide the resources and supplies needed to help volunteers improve our communities,” explained Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “Please lend a hand and join us in a cleanup this fall.”

To register visit www.keeppabeautiful.org and choose the Pick Up Pennsylvania button at the top of the homepage. Gloves and bags are available for registered events while supplies last. For questions regarding Pick Up Pennsylvania, please contact Michelle Dunn, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Cleanup Coordinator, at 1-877-772-3673 Ext. 113 or mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org. Cleanup tools and resources to help organize a safe and successful cleanup can be found here.

Last year, 577 events were held across Pennsylvania, and 13,297 volunteers removed 523,855 pounds of trash and tires from Pennsylvania’s waterways, coastal regions, parks, sidewalks, streets and neighborhoods, preventing litter and debris from making its way downstream.

About Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s mission is empowering Pennsylvanians to keep our communities clean and beautiful. Since 1990, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and its volunteers have removed over 141 million pounds of litter from Pennsylvania’s roadways, greenways, parks, forests, and waterways. To learn more about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, visit www.keeppabeautiful.org.