Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Friday announced the 2013 Great American Cleanup of PA collected 6.1 million pounds of trash and involved 137,429 volunteers in 4,928 events all across the state.

Since the inception of this event in 2004, more than 1.5 million volunteers have removed over 74 million pounds of litter and waste from Pennsylvania’s landscape, and planted more than 100,000 trees, bulbs, and flowers.

This annual event is in partnership with support from the Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, and partnering agencies and local businesses including the American Chemistry Council, Pennsylvania Beverage Association, Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, Republic Services, and Steel Recycling Institute.

As in years past, all 67 counties participated in this annual community improvement event. In total, there were 4,928 events with 137,429 volunteers. Volunteers collected 309,672 bags, or 6,193,439 pounds of trash.

They cleaned 13,954 miles of roads, railroad tracks, trails, waterways, and shorelines, and 4,252 acres of park and/or wetlands. Additionally, volunteers planted 5,933 trees, bulbs, and plants in an effort to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.

“We are so grateful to the more than 137,000 volunteers that pitched in to help keep Pennsylvania beautiful.” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “It is their commitment to their community that makes this program successful year after year.”

The 2013 Great American Cleanup of PA began on March 1st and ended on May 31st.  During this period, events registered online received free bags, gloves, and vests from PennDOT District offices. 

Events included litter cleanups, illegal dump cleanups, beautification projects, special collections, and educational events. 

As part of this event, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association sponsored Let’s Pick It Up PA – Everyday April 20th- May 6th.  During the Pick It Up PA Days, registered events were able to take the trash collected during their cleanup to participating landfills for free or reduced disposal.

The Great American Cleanup of PA is sponsored by Keep America Beautiful.  The 2013 national sponsors were Dart Container Corporation; The Dow Chemical Company; The Glad Products Company; LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc.; Nestle Pure Life Purified Water; PepsiCo's Pepsi-Cola and Gatorade companies; Troy-Bilt Lawn and Garden Equipment; Waste Management, WM Recycle Service; and Wrigley.

Planning has commenced for the 2014 Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania which will again be held from March 1-May 31, 2014.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is happy to announce that due to the on-going success of the program, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Waste Industry Association has graciously offered to extend the time period registered groups can obtain free or reduced disposal from participating facilities. Pick It Up PA –Days will be held from April 12-May 5th, 2014.

Registration for the 2014 Great American Cleanup of PA will open in mid- January.

The complete report on the 2013 Great American Cleanup of PA is available online.

9/16/2013