The state departments of Environmental Protection, Transportation, and Conservation and Natural Resources urged Pennsylvanians this week to participate in the annual Great PA Cleanup! that runs 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.

“The Great PA Cleanup! is one of the most ambitious, volunteer-driven community cleanup campaigns in the United States,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty and co-chair of the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Alliance. “Whether you join an existing cleanup or organize a cleanup of your own, every Pennsylvanian can help make the Great PA Cleanup! a success.”

“The first impression is a lasting impression! We can’t let litter and trash present an unkind picture of Pennsylvania to either our visitors or residents. PennDOT works with more than 7,150 Adopt-A-Highway groups and thousands of volunteers all across the Commonwealth to keep our roadsides clean,” Secretary of Transportation Allen D. Biehler said. “Without the volunteers, PennDOT would spend three to four times more on roadway litter removal. We are proud to be a member of the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful alliance and work with businesses, organizations and other state agencies on this coordinated effort to clean up Pennsylvania.”

PennDOT supports the Great PA Cleanup! by providing participants with free gloves, safety vests and trash bags.

“Individual citizens can make a difference, but collectively we can make an impact. Take the “iConserve Pennsylvania” first step by participating in the statewide Great Pa Cleanup!” Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis said. We encourage people to take pride in Pennsylvania and their communities by keeping our forests, fields, towns and cities free of trash and planting native trees, shrubs, and flowers. Check out other ideas at iconservepa.org”

“Trash and litter not only spoils our beautiful landscapes, it ruins property values, costs taxpayers money to pickup and can pollute streams and groundwater,” said David McCorkle, Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association and co-chair of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Alliance and our partners promote events like the Great PA Cleanup! to draw attention to this important issue and to help prevent litter and dumping in the future.”

This year's initiative again includes a focus on Litter-Free School Zones, a program launched by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful to promote and implement anti-litter education and cleanup events at schools.

“Building on the success of last year, we are asking schools to join our Litter-Free School Zone Program to help teach kids to put litter in its place and to cleanup areas around their schools,” said McCorkle. “We have 85 schools enrolled in the program and we hope to double that number this year.”

Groups that register their cleanup events as part of the Great PA Cleanup! by April 11 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 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.

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

The following organizations, local governments and companies provide support for Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and the Great PA Cleanup!:

State Agencies: Departments of Community & Economic Development, Conservation and Natural Resources, Education, Environmental Protection and Transportation,

Local Government: County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Association of Borough Managers, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors.

Civic Organizations: PA CleanWays, Pennsylvania Downtown Center, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Pennsylvania Host Municipal Inspectors, Pennsylvania Organization of Watersheds and Rivers, Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, Pennsylvania Resources Council, Pocono Mountains Visitors’ Bureau, Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania.

Businesses: AAA Mid-Atlantic, Home Depot, Inc., Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Pennsylvania Beverage Association, Pennsylvania Builders Association, Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, The Steel Recycling Institute, Waste Management Inc.

For more information on registering and promoting events, reporting forms, prizes and tips on how to keep communities litter-free, visit the Great PA Cleanup! website at www.GreatPaCleanup.org .

The 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 is a non-profit organization supported 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 promotes litter prevention, community beautification and improvement, and waste reduction. Also call the toll-free Pennsylvania Recycling and Litterbug Hotline at 1-888-548-8372 for more information.

4/4/2008