In celebration of Earth Day - April 22, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, whose vision is a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania, encourages residents to be part of the 2017 Great American Cleanup of PA by volunteering for a cleanup or setting up your own.

The Great American Cleanup of PA engages over 150,000 volunteers annually in litter cleanups, illegal dump cleanups, beautification projects, special collections, and educational events from March 1 through May 31.

“We are so grateful to our volunteers and sponsors who help make the Great American Cleanup of PA, Pennsylvania’s premier community improvement initiative, possible,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep PA Beautiful. “Last year, Pennsylvanians coordinated and participated in over 6,000 events. Over 22,000 tires and 5 million pounds of trash were removed from our beautiful landscape. This year we hope to engage even more Pennsylvania’s to join the Great American Cleanup of PA to help keep our communities clean and beautiful.”

Earth Day Cleanup Events

Highlighted below are just a few of the many Great American Cleanup of PA Earth Day events taking place across Pennsylvania via Keep PA Beautiful/Keep America Beautiful affiliates--

-- Keep Erie County Beautiful - YMCA Camp Sherwin Spring Cleanup and Community Greening Event on April 22 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m. Contact Brittany Prischak at bprischak@eriecountypa.gov or 814-451-7326. Event Location: YMCA Camp Sherwin, 8600 W Lake Rd, Lake City, PA 16423

-- Keep Allentown Beautiful - Great Allentown Clean Up on April 22 from 8:00 a.m. - 03:00 p.m. (Rain Date: 04/23/2017). Contact Kristin Baringer at baringerk@allentowncity.org or 610-437-8729.

-- Pennsylvania Environmental Council/Keep Northeastern Pennsylvania Beautiful - Earth Day Tree Planting on April 22 from 9:00 a.m. - 02:00 p.m. Contact Palmira Miller at pmiller@pecpa.org or 570-592-7876. Event Location: Pinchot State Forest, Avondale Hill Road. Volunteers will plant 7,480 seedlings in the Pinchot State Forest covering 10 acres of reclaimed mine land.

-- Keep Harrisburg/Dauphin County Beautiful - Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup on April 22 from 9:00 a.m. - 01:00 p.m. To register contact Julie Walter at jwalter@cactricounty.org or 717-232-9757. Event Location: This event takes place across the city of Harrisburg at multiple cleanup locations.

-- Keep York Beautiful - Go Green in the City, an interactive street fair on April 22 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Contact Thomas Smith at TLS35@psu.edu or 717-840-2375. Event Location: Downtown York in the block between N. Beaver Street, N. Pershing Avenue, W. Clarke Avenue and the White Rose Bar and Grill parking lot.

To find an event near you visit the 2017 Great American Cleanup of PA website.

Set Up Your Own Event

Setting up your own event is easy, just visit the Great American Cleanup of PA website and register.  Events registered through May 31 receive free trash bags, gloves, and safety vests from PennDOT district offices, as supplies last.

To help with the cost of trash disposal, the Department of Environmental Protection and PA Waste Industries Association are sponsoring Let’s Pick It Up PA from April 18 through May 8. During this time, trash collected at registered events can be taken to participating landfills and receive free or reduced cost disposal with prior approval.

Join thousands of volunteers who are keeping our communities clean and beautiful and register your event. Questions can be answered by Michelle Dunn, Great American Cleanup of PA Program Coordinator, at 1-877-772-3673 ext. 113 or send email to: mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

Video Contest

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is also calling for entries in the 2017 Great American Cleanup of PA Video Contest.  Just enter a video of your event featuring groups, children, and adults having fun keeping your communities clean and beautiful. 

Don’t forget to recognize local sponsors and incorporate Great American Cleanup of PA in your video!

Send a video, 2-minutes or less by email to: slarson@keeppabeautiful.org.  Cash prizes, sponsored by the PA Waste Industries Association, are $200 for the winning entry and $100 each for two runners up.

The Great American Cleanup of PA is led by a coalition of nonprofit, state agency and business partners such as the Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT, PA Waste Industries Association, the PA Food Merchants Association, Weis Markets, Inc., Wawa, Inc., Sheetz, ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer, Steel Recycling Institute and the Lancaster County Solid Waste Authority.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, Discover them on Pinterest and visit their YouTube Channel.

Also visit the Illegal Dump Free PA website for more ideas on how to clean up communities and keep them clean and KPB’s new Electronics Waste website.

NewsClips:

Keeping Our Streets Clean Can Keep Our Rivers Clean

Harrisburg Wants To Slap Illegal Dumpers With Mandatory $1,000 Fine

Get Dirty At The Annual Brandywine River Cleanup April 22

[Posted: April 19, 2017]

4/24/2017