Volunteers needed to clean up area roads
WAYNESBURG — Everyone wants to live, work and play in a clean and green community. But that doesn’t always come easy.
Everyone can make an impact on his or her community by volunteering and becoming a part of this year’s road cleanup effort, which began March 1 and runs through May 31.
Each year, thousands of Pennsylvanians take to the streets in their towns and cities to collect the unsightly trash that litters our roadsides. During the project, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) provides trash bags, gloves and orange safety vests to its volunteers and its maintenance crews then pick up the collected refuse and dispose of it free-of-charge in approved landfills.
Anyone who knows of a group looking to participate in the effort to keep Pennsylvania litter-free and beautiful, earning community service credits or simply wanting to get involved as dedicated, civic minded individuals are encouraged to call Colleen Martin, PennDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway coordinator for Greene County, at 724-627-6131 or by visiting the website http://www.gacofpa.org.
PennDOT will provide safety training for the volunteers either by having the team leader visit the office for a talk on the safety issues or by picking up a DVD that details the safety measures each team should implement. In either case, an appointment should be made a head of time by calling Martin at the above number.
In the Adopt-A-Highway program, which began in April 1990, volunteers beautify roadsides two miles at a time. Participants or civic or volunteer group sign a two-year agreement to pick up litter at least twice a year. In return, PennDOT posts recognition signs along the adopted roadway giving individuals or groups full credit for their efforts.
Participants must be 8 years of age or older, and there must be at least one adult (18 years of age or older) per eight minors (17 years of age or younger). Minors must also have parental permission to participate.
Volunteers may also participate in the Great American Cleanup by collecting litter and trash along roadsides, streams, beaches, parks, forests and neighborhoods. Additionally, during the Pick It Up PA Days, which is from April 18 to May 8, sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association and participating landfills, registered events have access to reduced or free disposal.
Community and civic associations, schools and youth groups, families and friends, business employees, hunting and fishing clubs, conservation organizations, sports teams, and others can organize their members and participate in the Great American Cleanup of PA.
Since the inception of this event in 2004, over 1,989,450 million volunteers have picked up 91,869,507 million pounds of litter and waste, 170,619 miles of roads, waterways, shorelines, and trails have been cleaned, and more than 164,836 trees, bulbs, and flowers have been planted. Volunteers also removed over 258,823 tires and 226,395 pounds of scrap metal.
“Last year, we had 29 groups involved in the roadside cleanup, of which a good share were Adopt-A-Highway volunteers,” Martin said. “They covered approximately 66 miles of roadway. However, the number of groups participating was significantly less than the year before.”
Those interested in volunteering should register at http://www.gacofpa.org. After registering, call Martin when ready to start the cleanup to get gloves, trash bags and safety vests.
While PennDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program relies on volunteer groups to maintain adopted sections of roadway, the Sponsor-A-Highway program involves businesses and interested parties securing agreements with Adopt-A-Highway Maintenance Corporation to use its skilled maintenance forces to perform roadside work, including litter removal, graffiti removal, sweeping, landscape plantings and mowing.
Sponsored roadways will have signs placed that recognize the sponsors. Find more information on becoming a highway sponsor by visiting the Adopt-A-Highway Maintenance Corporation http://www.adoptahighway.com/pennsylvania.
“We used to have inmates from (the State Correctional Institution at Greene) do road cleanup once a week,” Martin said. “This year, SCI-Greene has limited its cleanup involvement to one week a month. As a result, we desperately need volunteers to sign up to help beautify our roads.”