Litter piles up at Pennsylvania state parks

Sanitary wipes and disposable gloves are among the increasing amount of litter sullying some Pennsylvania state parks.

Although the facilities, including restrooms, are closed at 121 state parks, a growing number of residents continue to visit them with few options available for outings under covid-19 restrictions.

“Sadly, litter has kept pace with the visitation rate at some of our state parks, and at those near population centers, visitation is very high,” said Terry Brady, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The most common litter are cups, food wrappers, dog waste, sanitary wipes and disposable gloves, Brady said.

“Some are bringing in drinks and foodstuffs,” he said. “We are hammering on them, ‘If you bring it in, pack it all out!’”

Littering is a violation of state park regulations, Brady added.

Adding to the litter woes is the limited staff to clean up and strong winds that have blown trash around.

Some of the issues with the crowds and litter at state parks is related to the number of new park visitors, Brady said.

“They sometimes lack the respect-ethic longtime visitors have,” he said, adding that they congregate in the same area because they don’t know where else to go.

Brady suggests visiting the state parks website to find new places to walk.

For example, Forbes State Forest in the Laurel Highlands offers thousands of acres and hundreds of miles of state forest road and trails to explore and walk “quite often without seeing another soul,” Brady said.

DCNR is telling park users to carry their trash out of the park; find other parking lots when popular ones are full; don’t leave dog waste; use the restroom at home before heading out to the park; and avoid risky activities as there is limited park staff to help.

Littering is developing into a bigger problem at national parks as well, including recent reports from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Empire, Mich.