PA CleanWays of McKean County, an affiliate of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, was formed in 2000 with support from the County Commissioners and Penn State Cooperative Extension. The McKean County Conservation District started providing additional support in 2006. The affiliate focuses on cleanups of illegal dumps, special collection events for disposal of hard to recycle items, and educating the public on the detriments of illegal dumping and littering.

Since our inception through the end of 2009, PA CleanWays of McKean County has held 30 cleanups removing and properly disposing 139.32 tons of trash. Through our cleanups and special collection events, we have collected and properly disposed over 25,000 tires! In May 2009, our affiliate held a special pharmaceutical collection event collecting 750 pounds of prescription and over the counter medications. These medications could have ended up in our waterways or groundwater if not properly disposed.

The McKean County Affiliate has an extensive network of volunteers and works with many local conservation groups. Since 2005, our volunteers have donated over 1,000 hours to make McKean County a better place to live and visit! Volunteers can also 'adopt' sites, which includes monitoring and disposing of any additional trash that accumulates at a cleaned dumpsite. Currently, there are a total of eleven adoptions in McKean County.

Unfortunately, illegal dumping continues to be a problem in the county. The McKean County Illegal Dump Survey was completed by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful in 2008 to identify illegal dumpsites within the county. The survey results show that McKean County had 73 illegal dumpsites with an estimated 165 tons of trash. One site on the survey that has been cleaned is State Game Lands 301 in Eldred Township. Over 3 tons of trash and over 500 tires were removed from the site with the help of volunteers. In addition, tons of scrap metal and old vehicles were removed for free by a local scrap hauler.

Please check our Calendar of Events for upcoming cleanups. If you would like to become a volunteer for the affiliate please contact Heather McKean, Affiliate Coordinator, at 814-887-4003 or e-mail.