DEP, PennDOT seek volunteers for ‘Pick Up Pennsylvania’ litter campaign

WILKES-BARRE — Ted Wampole, Jr., executive director at the Luzerne County Convention & Visitors Bureau, encourages small groups, or even individuals, to get involved and become part of the “Pick Up Pennsylvania” campaign that gets underway this week.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Transportation announced that they are seeking volunteers for “Pick Up Pennsylvania” — a campaign of small-group or solo litter cleanup events, that will take place between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30.

Volunteer groups who clean up roadways through the PennDOT Adopt-A-Highway program are also encouraged to participate.

Volunteers must take proper steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks, practicing social distancing and limiting outdoor groups to 250 people or fewer and any indoor gathering to groups of 25 people or fewer.

DEP, PennDOT, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, and other partners sponsor “Pick Up Pennsylvania” events each spring and fall.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought twin challenges to our litter cleanup efforts this spring. It put group cleanup events on hold, while at the same time, littering increased in state parks and many other places as more people pursued outdoor activities,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “So DEP is doubly excited to support this fall campaign, encouraging small-group or individual litter cleanup activities.”

McDonnell added that many Pennsylvanians care about litter and the problems it causes.

“Their actions in cleaning up litter make their communities safer, healthier, and more inviting; reduce stormwater runoff pollution; and help reduce the damage that litter does to wildlife, particularly aquatic life,” McDonnell said.

PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said PennDOT is proud to stand with DEP and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful in support of all Pick Up Pennsylvania volunteers.

“The selfless spirit of our Adopt-A-Highway teams echoes the department’s desire for not only litter-free roadways, but litter-free waterways as well,” Gramian said.

Luzerne County ready

Wampole said he will post the DEP/PennDOT news release to both the VisitLuzerneCounty Facebook page as well as the VisitLuzerneCounty.com website, under “PickUpNEPA.com” link, to make sure Luzerne County residents are aware of the program, and to encourage participation.

“Visit Luzerne County, has been promoting an anti-littering message since early 2019, and earlier this year we rolled out a ‘design-a-sign’ campaign for local school districts, where we selected four designs that are appearing throughout the county,” Wampole said. “The signs were made possible through generous donations from A-Plus Hauling as well as New Roots Recovery and the Visitors Bureau.”

Wampole said some signs are left from the original shipment, so if anyone (individual, company, organization, municipality) would like one, they can stop at his office on Public Square and pick a few up, while supplies last.

“Cleaning up our county from the littering problem and spreading the message that littering won’t be tolerated has been a top priority of the Visitors Bureau,” Wampole said. “After all, curb appeal means a lot to visitors. If it doesn’t look nice and clean, they won’t come or stay.”

Wampole also praised the efforts of Greg Griffin, who has become a staunch advocate for eliminating litter across NEPA and Luzerne County, especially in the Wilkes-Barre area.

“Every weekend, Greg and his team are out and about cleaning up some of the worst littered spots in our area,” Wampole said. “He is a true leader in this effort and we applaud his efforts.”

Program details

• Registered “Pick Up Pennsylvania” events can get free trash bags, gloves, and safety vests provided by DEP, PennDOT, Keep America Beautiful, GLAD Products Company, and the Ocean Conservancy, as supplies last.

• Cleanups in any location for example, along roadsides, in neighborhoods and parks, and on shorelines are eligible.

• Individuals, families, neighbors, students, civic organizations and local governments are all invited to participate.

• The fall 2019 Pick Up Pennsylvania campaign included 12,610 volunteers who coordinated 382 events across the state. They removed 488,135 pounds of trash from Pennsylvania’s watersheds and waterways, preventing litter and trash from making its way downstream and eventually ending up in our oceans.

• In the spring and fall 2019 campaigns, the PennDOT Adopt-A-Highway program contributed 20,404 volunteers, who cleaned up nearly 16 percent of the collected litter on 10,576 miles of cleaned-up roadway.

• Through Adopt-A-Highway, volunteers collect litter on a two-mile section of state highway at least twice a year. The program currently has over 5,100 participating groups, more than 107,000 volunteers, and 8,300 miles of adopted state-maintained roadways.