Our Philosophy – Local Involvement is Key
How We Can and Cannot Help
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling DOES NOT clean up trash that was dumped with the knowledge and consent of the property owner.
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling DOES NOT initiate cleanups without a local contact or partner. We’ve found that only when people have a personal stake in cleaning up an area and in keeping it clean will our efforts have a lasting effect. Without local involvement, sites often become trashed within weeks of a cleanup, wasting everyone’s hard-earned resources.
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling DOES assist with the cleanup of trash on public rights-of-way and on private property where the property owner clearly did not know about the dumping or was not in a position to stop it.
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling DOES stands ready to assist any resident, community group, or municipality to organize a litter cleanup or the cleanup of an illegal dumpsite. We can offer:
- Technical support for your cleanup (disposal questions and issues, etc.)
- Free clean-up supplies (bags, gloves, vests) (Please contact PennDOT, 724-832-5387, ext. 241, to get supplies for cleanups on state roads.)
- Use of our road signs or flags to aid with the safety of your volunteers.
- Electronic device recycling at our Recycling Center. (The Covered Device Recycling Act bans many electronics from being landfilled.)
- Our Center is also an outlet for many hard to dispose of items such as tires and Freon appliances. If you get any of these hard to dispose of items during your cleanup, we typically waive any disposal fees for them (determined on a case by case bases).
Cleanup Guides
Forewarned is forearmed. Be prepared and know what to expect. By doing so, the cleanup will be more successful. A cleanup takes time, energy, community resources, and money. The following guides will help ensure those efforts are not wasted and will increase the chances of the area remaining clean once the cleanup is over.
- Tools for Change: Everything You Need to Clean Up Your Community, PA CleanWays, Inc., 1994 (Note: Some of the anecdotes are a bit dated, but an excellent reference for getting started.)
- Guidelines for Illegal Dump Cleanups: 10 Steps to Organizing an Illegal Dump Cleanup, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, 2009
- Cleaning Up Your Neighborhood and Keeping It Clean, PA CleanWays, Inc., 2004
- Volunteer Safety Guidelines, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, 2014
- How to Report a Dumpsite
Adoption Programs
Adopters perform a valuable service for their neighbors and for the environment by removing thousands of pounds of trash from our roadsides and waterways each year. Individuals, families, businesses, and social clubs throughout the county can adopt a section of a road, a greenway, a waterways or even a community by agreeing to clean up the area a couple times a year and to report their efforts.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, oversees and administers the adoption program across Pennsylvania. Adoption applications, cleanup reports, permission forms, and other correspondence are filed with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. To learn more about the adoption program visit their Land Stewards or Waterway Stewards page.
State roads are adopted through PennDot’s Adopt-A-Highway Program
Pick Up PA
Pick UP PA is Pennsylvania’s largest community improvement program. 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 a Pick Up PA event anytime of the year. However, Spring events support the Great America Cleanup. Events can include a litter cleanup, a illegal dump clean up, a beautification project, a recycling collection or an education event.
By registering your event, even a 1 person litter cleanup, with Pick up PA, totals becomes part of a larger state wide and Country wide (Great America Cleanup) effort. Registering is a great way for us to keep track (and compare) the amount of litter collected each year within the County, the state, and the County.
(When it’s time for your cleanup, contact Westmoreland Cleanways for cleanup supplies- gloves, trash bags, safety signs and flags)
TRAP, Tire Recovery Assistance Program
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling provides financial assistance to Westmoreland County Municipalities for the proper disposal of illegally dumped tires collected by their road crews. The TRAP program is a great recourse as road crews have the ability to pick up tires on a regular basis; before mosquitoes can lay their eggs in them, and before one or two tires in an area grow into a known dumpsite. Municipalities can call the office for details and to request a TRAP coupon.
Although TRAP is geared towards municipalities, occasionally this program can be used to fund a community group’s tire cleanup. The availability of using TRAP funds by a community group is determined by Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling on a case by case basis and available funding.
