Fayette County schedules environmental clean-up events for Saturday
Herald-Standard
The Fayette County Parks and Trails Department will host a Yough River Cleanup from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Citizens are invited to help keep Fayette County clean and green through two environmental events Saturday, June 18.
The Fayette County Parks and Trails Department will host a Yough River Cleanup from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the Fayette County Recycling Program will host its annual Household Hazardous Waste Event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“It’s sort of an ‘Environmental Day’ in Fayette County,” Parks and Trails Director Tom Petrus said. “We, as humans, create too much trash and don’t recycle enough. We need to do more to help the environment.”
Petrus partnered with the Mountain Watershed Association – Youghiogheny Riverkeeper, Regional Trail Corporation, Perry Township, Connellsville City, Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Committee, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for the cleanup. He said the goal is to clean two sections spanning about 12 miles of the river – Connellsville to Dawson, and Dawson to the Layton Bridge.
“We’ll float down the river in kayaks and canoes picking up any kind of trash, tires or other debris left there. We’ll then place everything along the bike trail, where Perry Township will have a dump truck riding along, picking up everything we collected.”
Volunteers can meet before 9 a.m. at the Yough River Park trailhead in Connellsville or at the Dawson Bridge, near the pavilion, to join one of the two cleanup teams.
Email Eric@mtwatershed.com or call 724-455-4200, ext. 2, to reserve a boat for the Connellsville end of the cleanup. Contact Petrus at TAPetrus@fayettepa.org to join the Dawson Bridge group.
Also on Saturday, county residents can also safely dispose of household hazardous waste at the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center, 105 Romeo Lane, Uniontown.
Fayette County Recycling Coordinator Sheila Shea partnered with the Pennsylvania Resources Council to host the event, which is also sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection, UPMC, the Colcom Foundation, Pennsylvania American Water, LanXess, KDKA and the Fayette County Commissioners.
A $20 fee covers disposal of up to 10 gallons or 50 pounds of a variety of hazardous materials, including aerosol cans, batteries, paint products and much more. Advance registration is required.
For a full list of fees and more information or to register, please visit www.prc.org/CollectionEvents or call 412-488-7490, ext. 1.