Norwin students propose using app to combat roadway litter; win region award

A team of Norwin High School students devised a cost-effective, safe and innovative way of curbing litter along the state’s highways. It also proved to be award winning.

The students — John Christian, Joshua Gubanich, Jordan Loy and Elias Mignogna — propose using a specially designed smartphone app called PALS (Pennsylvania Litter System) to aid law enforcement by allowing motorists to report litterbugs. The idea won the Innovations Challenge sponsored by PennDOT’s District 12, which covers Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Thomas Harskowitch, Norwin statistics and geometry teacher, served as the students’ mentor.

The app could make use of a new generation of E-ZPass transponders that will have dash-cam recorders built into them, allowing video evidence of perpetrators to be downloaded and sent to law enforcement, PennDOT said.

The students worked since the fall to solve the challenge of reducing litter within the next five to 10 years, without relying on existing laws, programs and educational campaigns. Regional winners move on to compete in Harrisburg for the state championship, PennDOT said.

“Last year, PennDOT spent nearly $13 million cleaning up roadside litter across Pennsylvania,” said Acting PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian.

That money could have been spent on the state’s highways, Gramian added.

Innovations Challenge, in its its third year, gets high school students to use their problem-solving, creative and strategic-thinking abilities to solve real-world transportation challenges, PennDOT said. It not only is designed to help students explore the state’s transportation challenges, but also open their minds to the possibility of working for PennDOT.

First, second and third places winners in the statewide competition will split a $3,000 award provided by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Traffic Safety Services Association and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.