Available Now! Enforcement Research Examines Pennsylvania Litter Statutes and Enforcement Practices and Procedures

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, with funding support from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, partnered with Palmetto Pride of South Carolina on the 2022 Litter Law Enforcement Study to assess the effectiveness of state litter statutes and enforcement practices and procedures with the purpose of identifying the most effective litter control efforts. The results can serve as a benchmark to measure litter control enforcement efforts across the country.

Key findings include: high fines for littering are not favored, and assessed fines are low; community service penalties are not regularly imposed; and waste management infrastructure and services differ in each jurisdiction, contributing to intentional and unintentional littering.

The recommendations for Pennsylvania include: simplifying littering and illegal dumping laws; streamlining the littering enforcement process to support ease of ticketing, fine consistency and community service infrastructure; pursuing education, public awareness, and community engagement; and improving waste management policies and practices to reduce illegal dumping and littering.

To read the full report, click here.

Litter Hawk Youth Award – Deadline January 31

A reminder to submit your projects for the Litter Hawk Youth Award Program. Kids in kindergarten through grade 6 can participate individually or as part of a lesson initiated by schools, home-schools, scout troops, 4-H clubs, environmental clubs or other organized groups.

The Litter Hawk Youth Award Program is a way for kids to share their hopes and concerns about litter and inspire others to care for their communities through art, words or video. In response to Pennsylvania’s new anti-littering education campaign, PA Fights Dirty: Every Litter Bit Matters, the theme is: Show Us How Every Litter Bit Matters to You. Projects include:

• Poster - Grades kindergarten through 4 
• Essay or Video - Grades 5 and 6

Two entries will be selected as winners in each grade level. First place will receive a $50 gift card. First runner-up will receive a $25 gift card. All participants will be recognized with certificates. The deadline to participate is January 31, 2023. Winners will be announced in April. Click here for the application and more information. 

Pick Up Pennsylvania and Community Cleanup Training Webinar

Want to fight dirty in your community but not sure where to start? To help you, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is hosting a community cleanup training webinar on March 1 from 7-8 pm.  The training will include technical support for choosing an event location, organizing and mobilizing volunteers, coordinating trash disposal, navigating our website and more! All are welcome to attend. A link will be made available on our website at a later date.

Pick Up Pennsylvania is a year-long initiative, however, events scheduled from March 1 through May 31 are eligible for free cleanup supplies provided by support from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT and Keep America Beautiful. Free or reduced cost trash disposal, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, is available for program participants from April 1 through April 30, with prior approval.

Litter negatively impacts the environment, waterways, property taxes, home values, tourism, businesses and the safety of neighborhoods. Cleaning up litter and making small improvements to our shared community spaces, like planting a tree or flowers or painting a community structure helps create safer, healthier and more livable neighborhoods.

Click here to register an event, join an event near you or to inquire about free supplies and trash disposal.

Land and Water Stewards

Being stewards of our roads, trails, waterways and other shared public spaces benefits the whole community. Not only does it reduce hazards associated with litter, areas that are maintained are more inviting to visitors and reduce costs associated with maintenance. We are all responsible for keeping our communities clean and beautiful. Join one of our programs today to become a steward of your favorite places!

Road and Area Adoption Program – Our adoption program provides residents with the tools and resources they need to be stewards of their neighborhoods. With the support of local municipalities, the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful adoption program is available statewide for municipal roads, parks, neighborhood blocks, greenways and trails. We provide a sign recognizing the volunteers’ efforts and seek the support of the local municipality. Click here for more information.

Waterway Stewards Program – Register to be a waterway steward and any time you are recreating in or near water, collect litter and stream health data. When you’re finished, dispose of the litter properly and report your data to us. You choose where you want to clean and it can be a different waterway each time. Keeping our waterways free from litter and debris helps preserve the beauty of Pennsylvania’s waterways, improves water quality, enhances the health and safety of our environment for people, animals, birds and fish. Ultimately, this helps protect the natural resources that we depend on for recreation and tourism. If you are a water trail user, angler, boater or waterway enthusiast interested in community science and building long term stewardship of our water trails, click here for more information.

Our Litter Free School Zone sign designs have been updated to include Pennsylvania's new anti littering campaign, PA Fights Dirty: Every Litter Bit Matters.  

Litter Free School Zone

Calling all teachers and educators - Our Litter Free School Zone is a fun and easy way to keep your school grounds free from litter and for students to make a positive impact on the local environment and community. The responsibilities of being a Litter Free School Zone include planning two improvement projects per school year (litter cleanups and beautification events, like planting and caring for pollinator and rain gardens) and reporting your results to us. Help your students gain respect for the environment and the world around them while developing a school-wide stewardship ethic. Make your school a Litter Free School Zone! Click here for more information.

Free Tree Seedlings for Schools

The Wildlife For Everyone Foundation and the PA Game Commission’s Howard Nursery announced schools can start applying for the Seedlings For Schools Program on January 30. The Game Commission provides enough seedlings for each student to take one home to plant. This year’s seedling choices are white spruce and silky dogwood. The dealine for applications is March 31. Click here for more information.