Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy Needs Volunteers for Cleanup

The following was provided by the .

Each year, trash crops up along our streams and in our floodplains from illegal dumping, old dump sites, and from intentional and unintentional littering.   Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy’s Annual Stream Cleanup corrals volunteers from throughout the watershed to pitch in and pick up.

During the 2010 Stream Clean-up, 550 volunteers removed four dumpsters of trash, 140 tires and 4,700 pounds of scrap metal.

General volunteers are needed to pick up trash along the streams and floodplains throughout the Perkiomen Creek’s watershed April 16 from 9 a.m.-noon. Bring a reusable water bottle, shoes and clothes that can get dirty. The conservancy will supply you with the rest—gloves, vests and bags.

The conservancy also needs assistance after the cleanup from 11:30 a.m.to 3 p.m.; these volunteers will be part of the pick-up crews that collect all the trash bags at each of the 46 stream cleanup sites.  Pick-up trucks or trailers would be very helpful, but not required. 

Have you volunteered before? Interested in leading a group of volunteers at a clean-up site? Register to be a site leader.

This year’s registration is online, please visit the conservancy’s website.

Intentional dumping of trash is illegal and is punishable by fines or even jail time. Illegal dumping pollutes our waterways, decreases the value of adjacent properties, attracts other crime, injures wildlife and spoils the beauty of the land.  Report illegal dumping to your local police department or to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Unintentional dumping, or the piling of home, lawn and garden material along stream banks where it washes away during floods, may not be illegal, but this practice also contributes a great deal to litter in our waterways.

Trash facts—Americans used 80 billion cans a year, 2.5 million plastic bottles an hour and 23 billion paper coffee cups in 2010. These bottles, cans and cups get into our waterways, flow down our rivers, and end up in a large plastic-filled gyro in the middle of the ocean. Act locally, think global, make a difference in your community, and volunteer with the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy Annual Stream Cleanup this year.

Everyone can assist in keeping our creeks and streams clean all year long.

1. Don’t litter and securely store trash in trash receptacles. Plastic water bottles, soda and beer cans and bottles, and fast food trash are the major offenders of in-stream and floodplain litter.
2. Lost building supplies equal lost money, so keep them and other items away from stream banks.
3. Report those who litter or dump illegally.
4. Help organize local efforts to clean up public spaces. Clean public spaces lead to clean streams! And clean communities promote a higher quality of life for everyone.
5. Reduce, reuse, and recycle! Less waste = less litter.
6. Would you like to sponsor the Stream Cleanup or another one of our Earth Day events? Contact Crystal Gilchrist at cgilchrist@perkiomenwatershed.org.

For more information, contact the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy at 610-287-9383.