Over 9,745 volunteers from 35 counties across Pennsylvania canvassed their communities to remove 459,076 pounds of trash and debris from Pennsylvania’s waterways and coastal regions during the 2013 International Coastal Cleanup event.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is proud to be the Pennsylvania statewide coordinator for International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest volunteer effort to improve the health of the world’s oceans and local waterways.

The International Coastal Cleanup is one of the largest international volunteer events. The Cleanup gives citizens around the world the opportunity to clean up their local waterways and to be a part of a larger movement.  

From September through October, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful worked together with local groups and organizations to coordinate 385 events throughout the state. Volunteers in Pennsylvania documented the trash that was picked up and the “top five” types of trash found during the 2013 cleanup included:

— 17,344 Cigarette Butts;

— 4,062 Food Wrappers;

— 3,259 Beverage Bottles (plastic);

— 3,011 Plastic Pieces; and

— 2,018 Bottle Caps (Plastic).

County accomplishments included:

— Allegheny County/Allegheny CleanWays, Pittsburgh City, and University of Pittsburgh:   Most volunteers – 4,011;

— Erie County/Department of Environmental Protection: Most cigarette butts collected – 16,276;

— Allegheny County/Allegheny CleanWays, Pittsburgh City, and University of Pittsburgh: Most pounds of trash removed – 206,500 pounds;

— Clinton County/Clinton County CleanScapes:  Most tires collected - 399; and

— Erie County/Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection:  Most plastic wrappers and most plastic bottles collected – 3,161 and 1,574  

“The phrase we all live downstream is common, but in Pennsylvania it is a reality with our diverse topography and the amount of watersheds, small and large,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.  “These numbers show that collectively we can accomplish great things. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful thanks all those involved in helping to prevent this litter from getting into our waterways.”

Funding for the International Coastal Cleanup coordination in Pennsylvania is provided by the Department of Environmental Protection – Bureau of Waste Management and Coastal Resource Management.

For more information, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website.

12/9/2013