Pawpaw
Way Cleanup: A Lesson in Building Successful Partnerships
Pawpaw Way, known
as a "paper street" to city planners, has been a target of local dumping
for years. With the help of many organizations and local companies,
PA CleanWays of Allegheny County set up a process to eliminate this
illegal dump. 
Helping
plan the cleanup for months, were the following:
-
Department of Environmental Protection
- Hazelwood
Initiative
- City
of Pittsburgh
- Kent
Duffee, Boy Scout
- Local
concerned citizens
On
April 13, 2002, the cleanup occurred. In addition to the groups listed
above, a great deal of help that day came from students from Schenley
High School and Michel Landscaping. A special thank you to Michel Landscaping
for donating the services of their staff, dump trucks and tools.
Without
the expertise of these skilled landscapers, the project would have never
been finished in five hours. Pawpaw Way was recognized by local concerned
residents as a prime dumping area. A year ago, Julia Reed got involved
and called PA CleanWays to report the area as an illegal dumpsite. Teaming
together, local community residents, local government, students, and
others, we rallied arm in arm to clean this blighted area. Pawpaw Way
was identified as one of more than 140 illegal dump sites in the city
of Pittsburgh. More than 22 tons of materials were removed from the
dump site including tires, appliances, yard debris, furniture, glass,
car batteries, and other items.
Kent
Duffee, a senior at Schenley High School partnered with PA CleanWays
of Allegheny County to clean Pawpaw Way and earn his Boy Scout Eagle
Award. Since the cleanup on April 13th, Kent has visited the site to
plant grass seed and check on the area. PA CleanWays wishes to acknowledge
Kent for his commitment to the Pawpaw Way Project.
To
initiate a local community cleanup in your area, please contact
the chapter office.
This page last updated:
February 16, 2004
