Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Supports Allegheny River And Watershed Cleanup
Volunteers clean up a section of the Allegheny River as part of the Allegheny River and Watershed annual event.
~ Celebrating 16 years of Keeping our Waterways Clean ~
(September 4, 2024) Allegheny River and Watershed Cleanup is celebrating their sweet 16 this year. For over a decade and a half, family, friends and the community have gathered to clean various locations along the Allegheny River near Warren, PA. Since 2005, nearly 5,500 volunteers have donated more than 48,000 hours removing trash from the watershed. They have pulled out television sets, microwave ovens, lawn chairs, refrigerators, 55-gallon drums, more than 17,500 tires and recycled almost 160,000 pounds of metal! Countless bags have been filled with recyclable metal, glass, plastic and aluminum.
Set to take place from September 12th to 14th, this year’s cleanup celebrates a significant milestone as the Allegheny River has been named Pennsylvania’s 2024 River of the Year. As in years past, this year’s event is part of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Pick Up Pennsylvania initiative, which encourages community cleanups across the state. Pick Up Pennsylvania provides free trash bags, gloves, and safety vests to volunteers for events held from September 1 through November 30. This collaboration underscores the importance of statewide efforts to keep Pennsylvania’s natural resources clean and beautiful.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Pick Up Pennsylvania is an enjoyable way for groups and individuals to participate in clean ups that are happening across the nation and world as part of Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. The International Coastal Cleanup engages people around the globe to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways. Land cleanups are also necessary to prevent trash from reaching the water in the first place.
Taking care of the places we care about provides many benefits in addition to improved aesthetics. Cleanups remove hazards to people, places and animals; foster a sense of community pride; and taking action often inspires others to do the same. Susan Stout has participated in the Allegheny River and Watershed cleanup for nine years. Her reasons for coming back year after year are simple: “A beautiful day on the water, searching for surprises as we gather trash, seeing the shoreline cleaner every year, a bald eagle, a great blue heron, the other regular volunteers. It’s a privilege to participate.”
“When you take the initiative to make your community and environment clean and beautiful for yourself, you also make it clean and beautiful for others. Little by little Pennsylvanians can make a difference in the health of our waterways and oceans by participating in Pick Up Pennsylvania, supporting the International Coastal Cleanup this fall,” said Michelle Dunn, Program Coordinator for Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.
To host an event, join an event near you or to inquire about free supplies, visit keeppabeautiful.org/Programs/Pick Up PA or contact Michelle Dunn, Pick Up Pennsylvania Program Coordinator, at 877-772-3673 ext. 113 or mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.
Trash bags, gloves and safety vests are provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT and the Ocean Conservancy, as supplies last. Events must be registered to receive free supplies.
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About Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s mission is empowering Pennsylvanians to keep our communities clean and beautiful. Since 1990, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has worked with hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the state to pick up nearly 158 million pounds of trash from Pennsylvania’s roadways, waterways, greenways, vacant lots, forestlands and other shared community spaces. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s core programming focuses on litter and illegal dump prevention, cleanup, community greening, and proper waste handling and sustainable practices. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful works with many partnering organizations on the state and grassroots level to accomplish our goal of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is the state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. To learn more about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, visit www.keeppabeautiful.org.
