Volunteers
Conduct Successful Cleanup Near Puzzletown
On
July 30th enthusiastic volunteers, Juniata Township Supervisors and
an environmental group from the Penn State Campus at Altoona (ECO-ACTION)
worked together to remove unwanted trash from an illegal dumpsite located
along State Route 3303 about 1.5 miles north of Puzzletown.
The
site, typical of other dump sites here in Blair county and across Pennsylvania,
was located along the road where a "pull-off" is located. Thoughtless
people had been dumping appliances, tires, assorted garbage and even
deer carcasses over the hill just out of sight from the highway. At
the bottom of the embankment runs "Poplar Run," a popular area trout
stream. Some of the garbage and debris was in the stream itself, polluting
the water for those downstream. Although out of sight, the dump was
not "out of smell," and several neighbors complained to DEP of the problem.
After inspecting the site with Juniata Township supervisors, PA CleanWays
of Blair County was asked to help coordinate a cleanup effort.
On
cleanup day, 21 volunteers donned their gloves and boots and cleaned
up the area removing nearly 3 tons of trash, 7 tires, and a couple of
appliances. It was placed in garbage bags, and then they were stuffed
into sturdy sacs donated by Croda Incorporated of Clinton County. The
heavier "sacs" were then pulled up the hill by a small front-end loader
which was provided by Juniata Township.
After
removing the trash, the volunteers raked the embankment smooth, and
dirt was pushed down the hill with a skidsteer. Grass was sown to prevent
erosion while the site regenerates with growth.
Those
supporting the cleanup effort were Juniata Township Supervisors, Kane's
Trash Removal, Southern Alleghenies Transfer Station, and ECO-ACTION.
The volunteers donated a total of 42 hours to accomplish the job.
In
an effort to keep any future dumping from occurring, the township used
a skidsteer loader to double mound piles of dirt on the pull-off to
prevent access to the bank where the dumping occurs. This has proved
to be an effective deterrent at similar sites across Pennsylvania. PA
CleanWays (PACW) not only wants to empower folks to cleanup dumpsites,
but likes to have deterrents from future dumping built into the cleanup
plan.
Mindy
Wilkins, a founder and President of ECO-ACTION, had this to say about
the cleanup: "I can definitely see Eco-Action working with PA Cleanways
on many cleanups in the future. The Puzzletown cleanup was a success,
and I think everyone walked away with a feeling of accomplishment and
pride just knowing that there is one less dump in Blair County to clean
up".
