By Tribune-Review

Published: Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 9:00 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, March 6, 2013

As the weather heats up, litter that has accumulated through the winter pokes through melting snow leaving some areas along rural roads with what Collier township manager Sal Sirabella calls “eye sores.”

Collier's “Keep Collier Beautiful” clean-up day yielded about 500 bags of garbage and more than 400 discarded tires as residents rallied together in the rain last year.

“It's disgusting,” said Mary Lou Kientz, who has been a member of the Collier Parks and Recreation Board since the clean-up project started.

April 20 will mark the event's seventh year as residents gather the morning of Earth Day to clean up their neighborhood.

“Our volunteers have to work diligently to keep it clean,” Kientz said, explaining that her biggest hope is that people will stop throwing trash in the neighborhood.

Where the trash comes from is up for debate but Kientz assumes the refuse is coming from outside Collier Township which is primarily a rural area marked with sections that have no residential buildings for long stretches.

Streets like Scotts Run Road, Fort Pitt Road, Boyds Run Road and Pinkerton Run Road that follow the streams in the area and have little to no housing are “an easy target for nighttime dumpers,” said Sirabella, who is very supportive of the parks and recreation board's initiative to keep them clean.

Residents who show will work until noon collecting garbage and reconvene for festivities including food and a raffle. All food and prizes are collected through donations made by local businesses.

Heidelberg has their own version of clean-up day as well on April 20. There is less garbage collected but the benefits are the same.

“You see the results,” said borough manager, Joe Kauer, explaining that doing events like these also raises awareness to residents that if there is less litter, there will be no need for a day devoted to cleanup.

“It's really rewarding on multiple levels,” he said. “More people … understand the issue and desire to keep (the borough) neat.”

Some boroughs are looking into having two events with one in the fall to start the winter off with a clean slate.

These beautification events happen all over and many of them include planting greenery to keep the areas looking lush.

Bridgeville's annual “Broom Up Bridgeville” will be held April 27 starting 9 a.m. in Triangle Park.

Carnegie has not yet released the date of their beautification day but details will be made available soon on the borough website.

Matthew DeFusco is an intern with Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-871-2311 or mdefusco@tribweb.com.

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