County of Fayette issued the following announcement on June 13.
The Yough River Cleanup will cover approximately 12 miles through the heart of the county, while the Household Hazardous Waste event returns for its annual collection.
Uniontown, PA - Citizens are invited to help keep Fayette County clean and green through two environmental events Saturday, June 18.
The Fayette County Parks and Trails Department will host a Yough River Cleanup from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Simultaneously, the Fayette County Recycling Program will host its annual Household Hazardous Waste Event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“It’s sort of an ‘Environmental Day’ in Fayette County,” Parks and Trails Director Tom Petrus said. “We, as humans, create too much trash and don’t recycle enough. We need to do more to help the environment.”
Petrus has partnered with the Mountain Watershed Association - Youghiogheny Riverkeeper, Regional Trail Corporation, Perry Township, Connellsville City, Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Committee, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for the cleanup. He said the goal is to clean two sections spanning about 12 miles of the river - Connellsville to Dawson and Dawson to the Layton Bridge.
“We’ll float down the river in kayaks and canoes picking up any kind of trash, tires or other debris left there. We’ll then place everything along the bike trail, where Perry Township will have a dump truck riding along, picking up everything we collected.”
Volunteers can meet before 9 a.m. at either the Yough River Park trailhead in Connellsville or at the Dawson Bridge, near the pavilion, to join one of the two cleanup teams.
Email Eric@mtwatershed.com or call 724-455-4200, ext. 2, to reserve a boat for the Connellsville end of the cleanup. Contact Petrus at TAPetrus@fayettepa.org to join the Dawson Bridge group.
“This comes with the satisfaction of beautifying the river. When you float the river, you don’t want to see garbage everywhere,” Petrus said. “I feel like there’s a lot of littering in Pennsylvania, but there’s a proper place for trash, and it’s not along our roads, trails or waterways, or in our parks. In the long run, this cleanup will help the fisherman and boaters who use the Yough River regularly.”
Those wishing to help preserve Fayette County’s environment in other ways can take their household hazardous waste to the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center Saturday. The annual event will take place at the 105 Romeo Lane facility in Uniontown, rather than at the Fayette County Fairgrounds, as in years past.
Fayette County Recycling Coordinator Sheila Shea has partnered with the Pennsylvania Resources Council to host the event, which is also sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection, UPMC, the Colcom Foundation, Pennsylvania American Water, LanXess, KDKA and the Fayette County Commissioners.
A $20 fee covers disposal of up to 10 gallons or 50 pounds of a variety of hazardous materials, including aerosol cans, batteries, paint products and much more. Advance registration is required.
For a full list of fees and more information or to register, please visit www.prc.org/CollectionEvents or call 412-488-7490, ext. 1.
To keep up with the Fayette County Recycling Program, visit www.facebook.com/FayetteCoRecycling or www.fayettecountypa.org/242/Solid-Waste-Recycling-Stormwater. For more information on the Fayette County Parks and Trails Department, visit www.fayettecountypa.org/538/Parks-Trails.
For more information about Fayette County, visit www.FayetteCountyPA.org.
Editor's Note: Images attached (Yough River Cleanup; HHW 2022 Flyer)
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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 Kassimer Harper, 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.
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