2005 Great Pennsylvania Cleanup

[+MissJenn]

Thanks very much to Salvelinus for passsing the word along about the 2005 Great Pennsylvania Cleanup website. Please look at their site as it is packed with great info about finding a cleanup, organizing your own cleanup, teacher resources, free materials, cleanup rewards, etc.

 

Last year, several CITO events (like this one) were organized in PA with the help and support from the 2004 version of this program. I sure hope that we can do as much or more this year. NOTE that will help you even if your event is on a day that is not April 23, say, for example, April 16 - which is Groundspeak's Official CITO Day this year.

 

Where are the folks from the Keystone State that would like to start organizing our CITO events for this year? Step on up!

 

Edited February 20, 2005 by MissJenn

[+MissJenn]

PRESS RELEASE

 

RENDELL ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES SECOND ANNUAL GREAT PENNSYLVANIA CLEANUP

Organizations, Individuals, Schools, Businesses, Governments Urged to Participate in Statewide Cleanup April 23

 

            HARRISBURG: On behalf of Governor Edward G. Rendell, Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty, Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler, Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis, and Fish and Boat Commission Executive Director Dr. Douglas Austen today unveiled plans for the Second Annual Great Pennsylvania Cleanup, an ambitious statewide effort to remove litter and trash from the state’s roadways, parks, river banks and open spaces.

 

The event will take place April 23 in conjunction with Earth Day.

 

“Last year, thousands of residents joined together to make the first Great Pennsylvania Cleanup a tremendous success,” Secretary McGinty said. “Because litter and illegal dumping affect everyone’s quality of life, we challenge residents to get involved with community cleanup efforts. Whether you join an existing cleanup or organize one of your own, every resident can help us succeed in making  Pennsylvania a much more attractive place to live, work and play.”

 

“It is very gratifying to see so many different organizations and interests offering enthusiastic support for the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup,” Secretary Biehler said. “We are proud to be partners with DEP and other state agencies in this coordinated effort to clean up  Pennsylvania.”

 

“Volunteers have always been the driving force behind cleanup and rehabilitation efforts in our parks, forests and trails,” Secretary DiBerardinis said. “Thanks to these volunteers, visitors and residents can enjoy some of the most beautiful lands and waters in the country. Let’s all do our part this year in keeping our landscapes free of litter.”

 

In 2004, DEP coordinated the work of 5,100 groups that reported picking up and disposing of more than 233,000 garbage bags of trash from sites across the Commonwealth. Those figures include PennDOT’s coordinated efforts of almost 100,000 volunteers from nearly 4,400 civic-minded groups that collected another 191,000 bags of trash from more than 9,000 miles of state-maintained roadway. Through the state’s Forest Lands Beautification Program, volunteers and contractors in 2004 helped DCNR remove more than 4,800 tires, 135 tons of trash, and 125 tons of scrap metal from Pennsylvania parks and forests.

 

Because litter prevention and cleanup play an important part in  Pennsylvania’s natural beauty and the enjoyment of fishing and other outdoor sports, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and representatives of sportsmen’s groups joined the secretaries in announcing the 2005 Great Pennsylvania Cleanup. Recreational fishing contributes more than $2 billion annually to the state’s economy, supporting nearly 15,000 jobs.

 

“More than 1.5 million anglers of all ages take in excess of 20 million fishing trips here each year. Much of that activity takes place on private lands whose owners are generous enough to allow public fishing,” Austen said. “Unfortunately, litter is the number one reason landowners post their properties. As a result, more stream miles come off PFBC’s trout stocking list each year because of litter-related concerns than any other reason.”

 

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Inc. --- the state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, which was founded in 1953 to promote litter prevention, community beautification and improvement, and waste reduction --- is once again playing a major role in the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is supported and sponsored by a wide range of businesses, trade organizations, civic and environmental groups, and state and local government agencies.

 

“Trash and litter ruin property values, exhaust tax dollars and lower the quality of life for everyone,” said Tom McMonigle, representing the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “It takes a shared commitment from residents, neighborhood groups, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and our state’s large and small businesses to prevent litter. I am impressed by the enthusiastic support we have received so far, and I am looking forward to a successful Great Pennsylvania Cleanup.”

 

Glad Inc. will provide all registered cleanups with trash bags for participants. Members of the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association have offered free landfill space to dispose of non-recyclable waste collected during the cleanup.

 

For information on the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup, and to find or register a cleanup, visit DEP’s Web site at www.dep.state.pa.us and click on the “Great Pennsylvania Cleanup” logo. The site 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. Interested individuals also can call toll-free at 1-888-548-8372 for more information.

 

# # #

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a list of organizations sponsoring Keep  Pennsylvania Beautiful and the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup:

 

 

·        Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association: Allied Waste Industries Inc.; IESI; Penn Waste; Republic Services of Pennsylvania; Charles Chrin Cos.; and Waste Management Inc.

·        Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Department of Environmental Protection;  Department of Corrections; Department of Transportation; Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission; Military and Veterans Affairs; and Pennsylvania State Police.

·        Cities:  Allentown,  Philadelphia and  Pittsburgh.

·        Keep Lancaster Beautiful

·        Keep Philadelphia Beautiful

·        Pennsylvania Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus

·        PA Cleanways

·        Pennsylvania Farm Bureau

·        Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association

·        Pennsylvania Host Municipal Inspectors

·        Pennsylvania Soft Drink Association

·        Pennsylvania Tourism & Lodging

·        Pennsylvania Resource Council

·        Professional Recyclers of  Pennsylvania

·        Schuylkill Keep It Pretty

·        Cumberland Valley Chapter, Trout Unlimited

·        Various Sportsmen Groups

 

[+eaglespirit0]

I'm glad some one posted a topic about this. I was a part of the Great Pennsylvania Clean Up last year for another organization that is sadly not participating this year. As I love this sort of stuff, I'm just not going to sit back on my hiney this year. Two days ago I began e-mailing organizations around Northeastern Pennsylvania to see where they need help and to see what they can do for us to help them.

 

Does any one have any comments, suggestions, tips, advice, or concern? I would prefer to do a camping weekend CITO than a one-day event. Just a little bit more fun to meet geocachers IMHO.

 

- EagleSpirit

[+eaglespirit0]

Here's a draft of the letter I am willing to send local organizations ... I think I might want to organize this as my eagle scout project. Again, what do you guys think should be changed/added/omitted/etc.?

 

To Whom It May Concern,

 

My name is Gerard Dougher and I am a resident of the town of Archbald, Pennsylvania. I am contacting you to see if you are in need of assistance for the second annual Great Pennsylvania Cleanup to be held on the 23rd of April. This ambitious statewide cleanup campaign has two purposes – to beautify the state of Pennsylvania as well as to assist an ailing environment.

 

I am interested in organizing a group of geocachers to be of assistance on this weekend. If you are not aware, geocaching is a constantly growing hobby that mixes the technological world of GPS’s with the natural world. Geocachers place “caches” with permission in areas where there is something historic, a good hike, or a good place for kids to have fun and then log the coordinates online so other cachers can find the cache. Since this hobby largely takes place in the outdoors, the majority of geocachers are greatly concerned with the environment and the future it holds. If you have any more questions or concerns about geocaching, feel free to contact me or visit www.geocaching.com.

 

If there is an area where you need assistance, please contact me at eaglespirit0@hotmail.com or xxx-xxxx. We are interested in making this a camping weekend so we can not only get a large amount of cleaning done but so we can also have fun, fellowship, and perhaps the spare cache or two. If you are in need of assistance, can you please also send a short list of the facilities you are willing to provide us?

 

I, as well as the thresholds of local naturalists, thank you for reading this letter and am looking forward to future correspondence regarding participation in the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

JD Dougher

[+MissJenn]

eaglespirit0,

 

Good start on that letter!

 

When I scoped out the location for my CITO, I chose to deal with just one person: my local State Park guy. I spoke to the park manager and he told me where we could do a good CITO event in his park.

 

You may get a better result this way: one contact, instead of sending the above letter to local organizations. You just might get inundated if you speak to too many local organizations right from the get-go.

 

Let us know how you do. OK?

[+MissJenn]

I, as well as the thresholds of local naturalists, thank you for reading this letter and am looking forward to future correspondence regarding participation in the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup.

Add the website: http://www.depesf.state.pa.us/greatpacleanup

 

Also, you might want to replace "thresholds of" with, say, "numerous."

[+eaglespirit0]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to see about contacting four of the park rangers around here or the coordinator for a river conservation program that I know is having trouble standing by itself.

 

I will surely let you know how I do.

 

- EagleSpirit