Laurel Highlands Today

County of Fayette issued the following announcement on Apr. 22.

The move comes on Earth Day and the first anniversary of the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center.

The Fayette County Recycling Program is celebrating this Earth Day by taking over its local chapter of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.  

Known as PA CleanWays of Fayette County, the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful affiliate was formed in 1995 by a group of local volunteers. After nearly three decades of growth, during which time many valuable partnerships with local, regional and state environmental organizations were forged, PA CleanWays will now transition its operations to the county. 

Current leaders Warren Hughes and Carl Williams will hand over the reins this weekend to Fayette County Recycling Coordinator/Stormwater Manager Sheila Shea. Affiliate responsibilities will migrate to a shared-staffed position. The group’s name will also change to “Keep Fayette County Green,” in line with the county recycling program’s motto, to encompass the wide variety of events and programs the affiliate offers.  

Hughes said he’s happy with the transition, as the affiliate successfully collaborated with the county recycling program in the past and “always shared a good working relationship.”  

“I’m hopeful that they will use our historical knowledge and experience to expand the affiliate,” Hughes said. “We will still be involved and available to advise when needed.”  

“We have already worked with Sheila on the recycling events. She’s a go-getter and very competent,” Williams said. “We are always willing to work with them in an advisory capacity.”   

Shea said she has “huge shoes to fill,” as the group has coordinated countless illegal dump cleanups, resulting in the removal of 1.5 million pounds of trash and 8,525 tires from the Fayette County landscape.  

“I’m honored that Carl and Warren asked me to continue their efforts through the county. For them to think so highly of our program is extremely humbling,” Shea said. “This transition will be a major undertaking, but we’re ready for the challenge and excited to get started. We thank Carl, Warren and all the PA CleanWays volunteers for their invaluable work and dedication to helping us keep Fayette County green. We hope they’ll join us as we start the next phase of this journey.”  

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful President Shannon Reiter said the organization is “grateful to Williams, Hughes and others that were instrumental to our mission in Fayette County” and “thrilled” the county will “continue to build on the great foundation that was paved by these local volunteers over the past three decades.”  

“We are grateful to Sheila and the county for seeing the value in continuing the affiliate and providing the tools and resources that residents need to keep their communities clean and beautiful,” Reiter said. 

Fayette County commissioners Dave Lohr, chairman; Vince Vicites, founder of the Fayette County Recycling Program more than 30 years ago; and Scott Dunn approved the affiliate transition during their regular monthly meeting Thursday, just in time for Friday’s Earth Day observance.  

In honor of Earth Week, which runs April 18 to 22, the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center has been celebrating with a series of special updates on its Facebook page, including:

• Observance of the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center’s one-year anniversary, today, April 22.
• Introduction of Rascal the Recycling Raccoon, the recycling program’s new mascot that will help teach local children about the importance of protecting our environment.
• Expansion of materials now accepted at the 105 Romeo Lane facility in Uniontown to include plastic bags and fluorescent light bulbs measuring between 4 to 8 ft. in length. No plastic bags or light bulbs are to be placed in the county’s green, drop-off bins.
• Announcement of Frazier Elementary School as the winners of the 2022 Fayette County Recycling Program Poster Contest. This year’s theme was “Keep Fayette County Green,” and the winners received a recycling magic show from the Pennsylvania Resources Council on Earth Day.

Fayette County will kick off its partnership with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful April 23, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center. The center is open the fourth Saturday of each month, but Shea said the list of accepted hard-to-recycle items will expand for one day as part of a Spring Cleaning Earth Week Event. 

For more information on Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, visit www.keeppabeautiful.org or contact Kylie McCutcheon at KMcCutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org or 724-836-4121, ext. 114.  

For more information on the Fayette County Recycling Program and Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center, visit www.fayettecountypa.org/242/Solid-Waste-Recycling-Stormwater or www.facebook.com/FayetteCoRecycling. 

To learn more about Fayette County, visit www.FayetteCountyPA.org.   

Editor's Note: Photo attached (PA CleanWays)

PA Cleanways of Fayette County volunteers Carl Williams and Warren Hughes celebrate the program’s transition with Fayette County Recycling Coordinator/Stormwater Manager Sheila Shea and Kylie McCutcheon of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

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This communication, among other initiatives, is funded through the 2016 Fayette County Local Share Account (LSA) in cooperation with the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, Fayette Chamber of Commerce, The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Fayette, The Redstone Foundation and other partners. This funding has been designated for the continued promotion and marketing of Fayette County, PA. 

For more information, contact Kristi Rooker Kassimer, Public Relations Specialist, at 412-691-0262, kkassimer@fayettecountypa.info or Kaylie Moore, Community Relations Coordinator, at 724-430-1200 Ext. 1611, kmoore@fayettepa.org.

Original source can be found here.