Trash Travels – Join Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful for the 2022 Pick Up Pennsylvania Program to Keep Our Waterways Clean
~ September 1 through November 30 ~
(September 6, 2022) Show us how you fight dirty and participate in the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Pick Up Pennsylvania program. Whether you are picking up litter in your neighborhood or organizing a larger cleanup of shared public spaces, Every Litter Bit Matters.
PA Fights Dirty: Every Litter Bit Matters is Pennsylvania’s new anti-littering campaign, developed as part of the Wolf administration’s Litter Action Plan and in response to Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s 2019 Pennsylvania Litter Research Study. The study identified approximately 502.5 million pieces of litter on Pennsylvania roadways.
To prevent that litter from ending up in our waterways, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful invites Pennsylvania residents to participate in Pick Up Pennsylvania, in support of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. This annual event is an opportunity to improve neighborhoods and Pennsylvania’s waterways by coordinating or participating in a litter cleanup. Registration is now open.
From September 1 through November 30, registered participants can receive free trash bags, gloves, and safety vests provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT and the Ocean Conservancy, as supplies last.
In addition to waterway cleanups, land-based cleanups are also eligible since a significant portion of waterway pollution originates on land. Wind and rain wash litter into storm drains or directly into creeks and rivers that eventually flow to the ocean where it has a devastating affect on marine life, human health and coastal economies.
“Whether you are cleaning up a local waterway, your local park or the street that you live on – it all makes a difference in reducing the amount of litter reaching our oceans. Every Litter Bit Matters. We are honored to provide the resources and supplies needed to help volunteers improve our communities,” explained Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “Show us how you fight dirty and help us clean up PA!”
The Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup engages hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world to remove millions of pounds of plastics and debris from beaches, lakes and waterways. This event has grown to include participation by all 50 states and U.S. territories and 90 countries with the number growing each year. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is proud to coordinate this effort in Pennsylvania. In 2021, nearly 14,000 volunteers canvassed their communities to remove 745,380 pounds of trash and 99,200 pounds of tires from Pennsylvania’s lands, waterways and coastal regions from September through November.
Individuals, families, neighbors, students, civic organizations, anglers, waterway enthusiasts, local governments and all who care about the health and safety of our local waterways and oceans are invited to participate. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful suggests following all applicable federal, state and local health and safety rules for Novel Coronavirus (Covid 19) in effect at the time of the event.
To register your cleanup or community improvement event, visit keeppabeautiful.org/programs/pick-up-pa/. Questions can be answered by Michelle Dunn, Pick Up Pennsylvania Program Coordinator, at 877-772-3673 ext. 113 or [email protected].
Current 2022 Pick Up Pennsylvania supporters include: Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania funded by the NiSource Charitable Foundation, The Giant Company, Coca-Cola, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, GreenPrint, Braskem and Sheetz.
If you are interested in making an investment in a cleaner Pennsylvania by becoming a supporter of the 2023 Pick Up Pennsylvania program, contact Deb Woolley at [email protected].
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About Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s vision is a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Since 1990, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has worked with hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the state to pick up nearly 152 million pounds of trash from Pennsylvania’s roadways, waterways, greenways, vacant lots, forestlands and other community spaces. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s core programming focuses on litter and illegal dump prevention, cleanup, community greening, and proper waste handling and sustainable practices. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful works with many partnering organizations on the state and grassroots level to accomplish our goal of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is the state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. To learn more about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, visit www.keeppabeautiful.org.