On Saturday, November 4th, the Wyoming Valley Sanitation Authority led the first Team Up to Clean Up event in Wilkes Barre, removing thousands of pounds of litter along Arch St. The event marks the first of a recurring cleanup initiative that the WVSA plans to organize every year to address litter in the Susquehanna River Watershed.
WVSA serves 36 municipalities with a mission to “protect communities and the environment by providing high-quality cost-effective wastewater and stormwater services.” To better serve the public, WVSA partnered with PEC to develop a Clean Water Advisory Committee(CWAC) made up of a diverse group of stakeholders, including Penn State Extension, Luzerne County Conservation District, and residents from the general public. This has helped to inform WVSA of community needs when it comes to stormwater management. Litter was recognized as one of the top issues impacting streams within the Susquehanna River Watershed, and thus the Team Up to Clean Up initiative was born.
The first cleanup was made possible thanks to a partnership between the WVSA, Keep NEPA Beautiful, Wilkes Barre City Department of Public Works, and the Wilkes Barre Worker Bees.
At first glance, discarded toilets, couches, TVs, boxes, Wilkes Barre City Recycling Bins, and strewn heaps of clothes were visible over the embankment. The site, which is just over 100 meters from Solomon Creek, was not only an eyesore, but a health risk to the local community and ecosystem. According to the EPA, most of the garbage that ends up in waterways comes from land based activities, which means that most of this trash within proximity of a waterway will likely end up there after a wind or rain event.
It’s hard to picture a bottle of soda floating down Solomon Creek, into the Susquehanna River, through the Chesapeake Bay, and all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, but it is much more troubling to realize just how many microplastics can make their way that far as litter breaks down over time. According to the World Health Organization, this common occurrence is arguably even more harmful to aquatic and terrestrial life.
The Wilkes-Barre Worker Bees were recognized with a Northeast Environmental Partnership Award in 2022.
Thankfully, more than 10 volunteers and staff members worked over the course of three hours to load water-logged clothing, busted lamps, heavy love seats, cans, bottles, and other single-use plastic into the city’s 15-yard dump truck to prevent this trash from leaving Wilkes Barre. The dump truck was filled twice for a total of 30 yards, or approximately 8,000 pounds of trash.
The Wilkes Barre Worker Bees were also inspired to return to the spot the following week to finish collecting some items, leading to the collection of about 10 more bags of trash.
The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority plans to conduct one to two clean-ups through the CWAC every year, and a stream clean-up is in the works for the spring. Keep an eye on their news and events page for more information or follow Keep Northeastern PA Beautiful on Facebook.
To learn more about other clean-up programs, including the Great American Clean Up initiative led by Keep America Beautiful and the Pick Up PA initiative led by Keep PA Beautiful every Spring, check out our 2022 blog, “Spring Into Action with the Great American Cleanup.”