Nearly 500 trash bags were filled during this year's Pennsylvania-Lake Erie International Coastal Cleanup, the result of 865 volunteers picking up trash and litter in the Lake Erie Watershed.

The volunteers spent the past two Saturdays (September 13 and 20) cleaning up the Lake Erie shoreline and tributaries leading to the lake and Presque Isle Bay. Excluding an abandoned Jeep that was found along the shoreline in western Erie County, the volunteers bagged and documented 6,800 pounds of trash.

The actual counting of litter items and learning what people are throwing away serves as an educational tool in Erie County schools to educate students about littering in an effort to change habits. The International Coastal Cleanup is a global event held every September, the largest environmental public education project of its kind.

9/26/2008