Join nearly 140,000 friends and neighbors from all across Pennsylvania that volunteer to remove litter and trash from roadways, parks and streambanks as part of the annual Great PA Cleanup sponsored by the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Alliance, state agencies and many other partners.

The entire cleanup campaign - with a special emphasis on creating Litter- Free School Zones - will run from April 19 to May 3.

Groups and event coordinators registering their events will be eligible for free disposal space for the trash they pick up and to win thank you prizes from participating sponsors. Groups must register their events by April 11 to be eligible.

Last year, more than 139,000 volunteers from all 67 counties removed 7.4 million pounds of trash from roads, parks, schools, waterways, wildlife areas and communities.

Video Blog: Volunteers Join in 29th Street Cleanup Along Capital GreenBelt

This year's initiative again includes a focus on Litter-Free School Zones, a program launched by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, cosponsor of the Great PA Cleanup. Participating schools agree to check the campus grounds weekly and remove litter, and also to promote and implement all campus events as litter-free events.

Groups that register their cleanup events as part of the Great PA Cleanup will be eligible for free landfill space to dispose of non-recyclable waste collected during their cleanup events courtesy of the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association and its member companies.

Groups and coordinators who report the results of their cleanups will be eligible for thank you gift cards from a growing number of Pennsylvania businesses sponsoring the Great PA Cleanup.

The state departments of Environmental Protection, Transportation and Conservation and Natural Resources are members of the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful alliance and partners in the Great PA Cleanup.

PennDOT supports the cleanup by providing participants with free gloves, safety vests and trash bags.

PA CleanWays, a nonprofit group dedicated to fighting illegal dumping and litter, is coordinating all cleanup event registrations and collections reporting.

The Great PA Cleanup website also contains safety information, links to other cleanup organizations, a logo that can be downloaded, T-shirt iron-on transfers and posters, and lesson plans for teachers.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Inc. is supported and sponsored by a wide range of businesses, trade organizations, civic and environmental groups, and state and local government agencies. It is the state affiliate of the national Keep America Beautiful that was founded to promote litter prevention, community beautification and improvement, and waste reduction.

The following is a list of organizations sponsoring Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and the Great PA Cleanup:

AAA Mid-Atlantic, Audubon Pennsylvania, Best Buy, Cities: Allentown, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Departments of Conservation and Natural Resources, Education, Environmental Protection and Transportation, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, GreenTreks Network, Home Depot, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Keep Lancaster Beautiful, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, Keystone Sanitary Landfill, PA CleanWays, Pennsylvania Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, Pennsylvania Builders Association, Pennsylvania Downtown Center, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, Pennsylvania Host Municipal Inspectors, Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association, Pennsylvania Organization of Watersheds and Rivers, Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, Pennsylvania Resources Council, Pennsylvania Beverage Association, Pennsylvania State Association of Borough Managers, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau, Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, Schuylkill Keep It Pretty, Sierra Club of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, The Steel Recycling Institute and Waste Management Inc.

For additional information, call the toll-free Pennsylvania Recycling and Litterbug Hotline at 1-888-548-8372.

PA Environment Digest Video Blog

On the Hill

· Session Schedule

· On the Senate/House Agenda

· Senate/House Bills Moving/Bills Introduced

· House Environmental Committee Reports Heating Assistance, Stormwater Bills

· House Republicans Examine Ways to Lower Consumer Electric Bills

· Regional Compact Might Aid Fight Against Electric Corridor

· House Hearing on Budget Yields Support for More Environmental Funding

· House Environmental Committee Sets Hearing on Extending Electric Rate Caps

· Environmental Synopsis Features E-Waste Dilemma

Other News

· Gov. Rendell Announces Nine Winners of Environmental Excellence Award

· Rebounding Youghiogheny River Named DCNR's River of the Year

· Nominations Accepted for 2008 Friend of the Lehigh River Awards

· 12th Annual Lehigh River Sojourn Set for June 20-25

· Conservation Districts Announce Legislator Recognition Award Winners

· PA American Water Accepting Applications for Environmental Grant Program

· Anglers Invited to Chart Future of Raystown Lake

· EPA Settlement With Upper Southampton Includes Pharmaceutical Education

· Pennsylvanians Urged to Evaluate Flood Insurance Needs

· 2nd Annual Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder Poetry, Essay and Photography Contest

· BP Donates $13,000 to Three PA Boy Scouts Councils

· Harrisburg, Pittsburgh Peregrine Falcons Make Their Online Debut This Week

· Game Commission to Provide Wildlife Workshops for Teachers

· Game Commission Reports Deer Harvest Down 11 Percent Over Last Season

· WPC Offers Land Preservation and Conservation Easements Workshop

· Exelon-EPURON Solar Center Breaks Ground on 3,700 MW Plant

· Chem-Fab Site in Doylestown Added to EPA's Superfund List

· Backyard Composting Courses to Be Offered in 50 Counties

· Protecting Pennsylvania’s Historic Resources Conference May 14-16

Spotlight

· Conservation Districts Hold Capitol Legislative Day to Push Initiatives

Feature

· Western Pennsylvania Land: A Legacy for Future Generations

Grants & Awards

Go To: PA Environment Digest Calendar Page

3/21/2008