Conestoga Valley High School Students Cleanup West Earl Township Community Park
WEST EARL TOWNSHIP, Pa., April 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty donned a pair of work gloves today as she helped nearly 70 high school students pick up trash at a township community park as part of the fifth annual Great Pennsylvania Cleanup.
McGinty called the statewide cleanup effort a great opportunity for citizens to come together and improve their communities and the environment.
"Community cleanups are great for the environment, and they can be a lot of fun, too," said McGinty while working alongside Conestoga Valley High School students at the West Earl Township Community Park. "By rolling up our sleeves and volunteering to keep our state beautiful we can protect our environment and make the cities and towns we call home better places to live, work and play."
The Great Pennsylvania Cleanup is on track for another record year. Event registrations are ahead of last year's pace by more than 90 events heading into the Saturday before Earth Day, which is Tuesday, April 22.
Last year, nearly 140,000 volunteers from every county in Pennsylvania worked together to pick up 7.4 million pounds of trash from an unprecedented 4,100 communities between March and May. In addition, volunteers planted 13,000 trees, bulbs and plants to add to Pennsylvania's beauty.
During the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup's four year history, more than half a million Pennsylvanians have collected 24.6 million pounds of trash from Pennsylvania's communities.
"The success of the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup is made possible by the community leaders like Conestoga Valley teacher Kerrie Snavely and her enthusiastic students who collectively organize and participate in thousands of cleanup events across the state," McGinty said. "Mrs. Snavely's environmental science classes have been cleaning up and beautifying this park for five years in a row, and their efforts are improving the quality of life here in West Earl Township."
The Great Pennsylvania Cleanup is part of the Great America Cleanup, which runs from March 1 through May 31. "Pick It Up PA" days begin tomorrow and continue until Saturday, May 3. To find a local cleanup, visit http://www.greatpacleanup.org/.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Inc. is again playing a major role in the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is supported by a wide range of businesses, trade organizations, civic and environmental groups, and state and local government agencies.
The state departments of Community and Economic Development, Conservation and Natural Resources, Education, Environmental Protection, and Transportation are members of the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful alliance. PennDOT supports the cleanup by distributing free gloves, safety vests and trash bags to participants.
PA CleanWays, a nonprofit group dedicated to fighting illegal dumping and litter, is coordinating all cleanup event registrations and collections reporting.
Member companies of the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association are offering free landfill space to dispose of nonrecyclable waste collected during the cleanup.
For more information, visit http://www.greatpacleanup.org/.
CONTACT: Charles Young
717-787-1323
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
