Luzerne County Cleanups Completed At Lee Road and Plymouth

The Cleanup Our American Lands and Streams (COALS) Program completed two cleanups in Luzerne County in Novemberat the Lee Road Site and adjacent to Main Street in Plymouth Borough/Plymouth Township.

 

Both areas have been subject to illegal dumping for many years and had been eyesores in the community. COALS is a program of the Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council to clean up illegal dump sites.

 

At Plymouth, part of the property will be blocked off by a gate installed by Earth Conservancy to stop further dumping. A total of 4 tons of trash and .5 ton of tires were removed from this site by volunteers.Partners in the cleanup included the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Department of Environmental Protection, USDA, Earth Conservancy, and the Pennsylvania American Water Company.

 

The Luzerne County Department of Corrections Pre-Work Release Program supplied volunteers. J.P. Mascaro and Sons, a COALS Program sponsor, donated the dumpsters and transportation and Keystone Sanitary Landfill, another COALS Program sponsor donated disposal costs for the trash.

 

The Lee Road site, a property of Earth Conservancy, has been a site of illegal dumping for many years and an eyesore in the community. Due to the amount of trash and tires and the very steep terrain of the site, it was necessary to retain a contractor, Gary Fronk Inc., to remove the illegally dumped material.

 

A total of 18.5 tons of trash and 1 ton of tires were removed from this site. Penn Dot will be installing a guard rail along this portion of roadway to deter future dumping. Partners in the cleanup included the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Department of Environmental Protection, USDA, Earth Conservancy and the Pennsylvania American Water Company.

 

J.P. Mascaro and Sons, a COALS Program sponsor, donated the dumpsters and transportation and Keystone Sanitary Landfill, another COALS Program sponsor donated disposal costs for the trash.

 

COALS is a program to remove illegally dumped garbage and trash through a partnership among environmental groups, business and industry, including coal and waste companies, and local, county and state governments. The program was piloted in Columbia and Northumberland counties and has expanded to over ten Counties.

 

The COALS program is a multi-faceted initiative, which includes cleanups, developing recycling programs, education and outreach, surveillance and enforcement. The PEC and DEP have developed a coalition of committed partners.

 

Since the program’s inception in 2005, over 150 sites, 725 tons of municipal waste, 300 tons of tires and 220 pounds of hazardous waste have been cleaned up, but a tremendous amount of work remains. On average, there are over 200 illegal dumpsites in each County in the Commonwealth.

 

For more information, visit the Cleanup Our American Lands and Streams Program webpage, DEP's Community Cleanup webpage or the PA CleanWays website.