Keep Cumberland County Beautiful

Cumberland County is an official county affiliate of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful's vision is a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania, and over the past 30+ years, they have worked with hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the state to pick up nearly 152 million pounds of trash from roadways, waterways, greenways, forests, and other community spaces. Keep PA Beautiful is a state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Inc.  The goal of Keep Cumberland County Beautiful is to expand capacity within the county for litter abatement, waste reduction, beautification and environmental stewardship.

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Keep Cumberland County Beautiful Steering Committee

  • David Lenker II, Supervisor, Silver Spring Township
  • Barbara Arnold, Environmental Coordinator, Lower Allen Township
  • Lauren Dennen, Customer Service, Apple Valley Waste
  • Brian O'Neill, Engineer, South Middleton Township
  • Joel Washok, Contract Administration, Penn Waste
  • Richard Castranio, Commissioner, Upper Allen Township
  • Sharon Dodd, Citizen, North Middleton Township
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Why litter is a problem in Pennsylvania and Cumberland County

Recent research in Pennsylvania shows that only 3% of Pennsylvanians approve of litter, but 40-50% are littering. This results in approximately 502.5 MILLION pieces of litter along our roadways. And litter isn't just ugly, it can contaminate the environment and cause public health risks.

Litter Reduction and Beautification in Pennsylvania

PA Litter Action Plan

The PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and Keep PA Beautiful, partnered in 2018 to perform a research study to document the quantity, composition and sources of litter in Pennsylvania.  There are approximately 502.5 million pieces of litter on Pennsylvania roadways, primarily cigarette butts and plastic bottles. In the nine cities studied, more than $68.5 million is spent annually on efforts to address litter and illegal dumping. Using Pennsylvania specific data, the first ever Statewide Litter Action Plan was created, with a goal of changing behaviors to curb the statewide litter problem. One of the first recommendations to be addressed was the creation of the anti-litter campaign, "PA Fights Dirty: Every Litter Bit Matters", which aims to shift the narrative from cleaning up the mess to changing behaviors.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful

The core programming of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful focuses on litter and illegal dump prevention, cleanup, community greening, proper waste handling, and sustainable practices. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful works with many partnering organizations at the state and grassroots level to accomplish their goal of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is the state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization.  Learn more about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.