This month Rough Terrain traveled to Greensboro, Pennsylvania
to meet up with an organization dedicated to cleaning up illegal
dump sites around the state. For twelve years, PA
CleanWays has worked to remove trash from our communities,
roadways, and waterways. They have now teamed up with DCNR to
assist them in cleaning up the illegal dumping that occurs on
Pennsylvania's State Park and Forest lands. Click here for some
quick PA
CleanWay's Facts and Projects.
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Sandy
Carlson, Associate Project Manager for CleanWays, discusses
illegal dumping occurring on state park and forest lands
and the efforts to restore these areas to their natural
state.
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How did it all begin?
The effort began in the spring of 1989 when
local citizens removed 19 truckloads of trash from a rural road
in Westmoreland County. The following year, two more neighborhood
groups removed a combined 33 truckloads of trash from illegal dumps
near their homes. What followed was a meeting of the minds with
the organizers and supporters of these cleanups creating PA CleanWays.
They worked out the details and glitches on planning, organizing
and implementing a clean up effort to make it easier for other concerned
citizens to take on the challenge of illegal dumping.
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Why are they successful?
The key
to their success is building strong community teams that are passionate
about cleaning up a problem area in their town. This team approach
provides the necessary resources for getting an area cleaned as
well as the commitment to monitoring the site in order to protect
it from repeat offenders.
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