The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Great American Cleanup of PA has been selected to receive a 2015 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

The Great American Cleanup of PA is an annual program empowering Pennsylvanians to make communities clean and beautiful by removing litter and trash along roadsides, streams, beaches, parks, forests and neighborhoods. 

Events can also include recycling collections for hard-to-dispose of items like tires and appliances, creating or enhancing green areas through beautification and community greening, removing or painting over graffiti that devalues a neighborhood, and other activities that help beautify any community.

Community and civic associations, schools and youth groups, families and friends, business employees, hunting and fishing clubs, conservation organizations, sports teams, and others organize their members and participate in the annual Great American Cleanup of PA.

Since the inception of this event in 2004, over 1,565,950 million volunteers have picked up 80,575,227 million pounds of litter and waste, 146,259 miles of roads, waterways, shorelines, and trails have been cleaned, and more than 136,300 trees, bulbs, and flowers have been planted.  Volunteers also removed over 202,350 tires and 130,218 pounds of scrap metal.

 “The Great American Cleanup of PA is successful year in and year out due to its long-term committed industry and state agency partners, municipal and civic event coordinators, and the more than 130,000 community stewards across the state that roll up their sleeves to improve their communities,” stated Shannon Reiter, President of Keep PA Beautiful.  “Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is honored to accept this award on behalf of our partners and environmental stewards who take responsibility for improving their community.”

Each year organizations and companies that encourage and promote environmental stewardship are recognized with the Governor’s Award for Environmental excellence for their accomplishments and contributions to the conservation of Pennsylvania’s environment. 

A reception of honorees was held on April 28 at the Harrisburg Hilton Hotel.

For more information, visit KPB’s Great American Cleanup of PA webpage.

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5/4/2015