Pennsylvania Needs Garbage Action Plan
Each year when spring rolls around, countless volunteers and organizations across Pennsylvania work on large-scale cleanups.
It’s a prestigious tradition and we sincerely support it. But every year, seeing a bunch of garbage bags collected from Pennsylvania’s roadsides and other outdoor spaces makes me wonder why this is necessary.
If people do what they need to do all year round, we don’t need to do extensive cleanup every year in our community. And there’s not much to do for brave people who are dedicated to this job all year round, such as through highway adoption programs.
Unfortunately, the tragedy of inadvertent littering and illegal dumping continues, damaging the state’s landscape, which is well-known for its stunning natural beauty. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful estimates that 500 million trash are scattered throughout the state.
That is why we support Governor Tom Wolf’s first announcement in Pennsylvania. Garbage action plan..
“We have a garbage problem,” Wolff said this fall when he announced a plan developed in collaboration with representatives of state and local governments, businesses, legislators, nonprofits and community organizations. “. “Garbage is bad for the environment and our community, it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
NS Tribune-Review Westmoreland County Report According to a 2020 survey commissioned by state authorities working with the non-profit Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, PennsDOT workers spent more than $ 65 million between 2014 and 2018 on state road traffic. Removed debris and debris from the right. The government’s annual debris removal budget is about $ 14 million.
“It’s money that can be used to rebuild bridges, help veterans, and feed people,” said Shannon Reiter, president of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Tribune-Review.. “We are very excited that the Governor and state agency partners are taking the waste problem, the burden it puts on the community, seriously and seeking a transition to a preventative strategy.”
That is absolutely true. It’s a terrible shame that states and local governments have to devote limited resources to problems that can be easily fixed if people fulfill some of their most basic obligations. What’s so harder to wait to find a trash can than to throw trash from your car? Or do you put out the trash for collection instead of throwing it somewhere and making it a problem for others?
This is an old problem and cannot be easily solved. Think of the tearful Native American Indians’ famous “Keep America Beautiful” ad as more than half a century old. Nevertheless, it is important to continue to defeat this issue.
The report identifies 16 recommendations to address. inside that:
• PennsDOT, the Regional Economic Development Agency, and the Environmental Protection Agency will work together on a littering prevention campaign to be announced in the spring.
• DEP works on rules to provide convenient and affordable access to waste treatment and recycling services in rural areas that are not always economically feasible.
• The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will renew the concession vendor contract to minimize the use of straws and disposable equipment at the facility. Vendors will also be notified when compost is available in the state park.
• State police will continue the “Operation Clean Sweep” launched in the summer to strengthen their zero-tolerance stance on waste enforcement.
• The Fish & Boat Commission will introduce a pilot project to promote proper disposal of fishing line.
To combat urban trash, the plan proposes solutions such as Lancaster’s Tiny Can Project. In this project, several miniature trash cans in the city were placed on both sides of the road in the target area. Residents who have “small cans” outside their homes have agreed to empty them on Garbage Day along with regular garbage collection.
DEP Executive Secretary Patrick McDonnell said it was important to apply the same energy to the anti-garbage initiative that many are devoting to cleaning each spring.
We agree and can only imagine what great things can be achieved if all those hands are put to something more productive than picking up someone else’s trash. Let’s work on it.
Comments by: Jacob Moore
As more and more people are talking about climate and pollution issues in their area, states have begun to take matters into their own hands. Pennsylvania is not the only state to have enacted a garbage clean up plan in recent years. In May of 2021 California commissioned their new “$1B statewide cleanup plan.” The federal government tracks these programs through the United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. To get more information on opportunities to help clean up your community, you can visit https://www.epa.gov/cleanups/cleanups-my-community, or go to nationalcleanupday.org.
Cleanup News is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to bringing individuals and organizations together with the shared mission to encourage a clean outdoors. We’re growing because of giving individuals that recognize the positive aspects of our mission. CleanUp News is your source for news about the industry.
Source Link: Pennsylvania Needs Garbage Action Plan