Looks like NJ is resuming their inmate trash collection program. May be hope for PA (haven't looked that up yet) https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/uploads/comm/news/details/comm_np_20210503_161932_NJDOTInmateLitterandAdopt-A-HighwayProgramsbeginasLittercampaigncontinues.pdf

Can't find anything official about PA, just this one complaint letter to the editor https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/opinion/2023/02/a-drive-down-route-33-is-all-it-takes-to-see-the-littering-problem-on-pas-highways-letter.html

I'm scared to listen to that interview again. Only listened to it once when it aired live, then again with my husband later in the day. Did I sound like an idiot? I can't remember. I can see why some actors and actresses have never seen their own films. I almost puked before I had to go on air due to nerves. But it was such a great story and I wanted people to know about it. For the record, the best response comment I got about the interview was "That was a driveway moment," meaning they were so taken by the story driving home from work that they sat in their driveway to listen to the end. The worst comment I got was "That woman needs mental help." Har.

Yeah, that storm was something, wasn't it? I remember it well too because I think our work shut down for 4 days, which never happens.

Aw ,man. Hate tires! I have a hard enough time rolling them out of the woods or whatever. I'm really bad at rolling them straight! But then to also have the water sloshing around inside. Sometimes I'd rather leave 'em.

Yep, relentless is the word. Some people ask me how I cope, knowing that in weeks and sometimes mere days, the trash will reaccumulate. I've had a couple people drop out because they hated knowing it would always come back.

But my thought is that whatever I can get out of the environment today, this week, this month, is trash that won't harm the environment, people, or wildlife and won't make it to waterways where that's the last anyone will ever see of it.

My sister travels a bunch around the country and always texts me the state of cities she visits. They are always, always better than Pennsylvania. Gov. Wolf rolled out a Litter Action Plan in the state November '21 and I've yet to really see any change. Gonna take a herculean effort to shift away from "trash acceptance."

Thank you for what you do in your job. So necessary!

Yep, lots of people care, but we're all out here wondering what to do about it. My NextDoor is blowing up about it and someone started their own litter-picking group, which is amazing. Their first outing is on Saturday. Really great to see people like "Welp. Nobody from the city or state is gonna get it. Might as well be me." And that's what I'm trying to convey with my own group, plus my meetings with city admins in Allentown. We're working on education and outreach programs now, trying to get the community involved in caring about their neighborhoods.. I'm hopeful.

Thank you. Even though it can be a gross, physically demanding job, I'm glad to do it because there's that feeling at the end when I look back and see a really clean area. It's very gratifying and worth the effort.

Welcome! And you're right. Littering is small potatoes to law enforcement. I get it. But I don't know how to make people stop doing it either. It's a quality of life issue.

I once documented the saga of a plastic bag stuck in a tree outside my work. This was back when blogging was hot. The story grew legs, so many people followed its condition and asked about it offline too. I pitched the story to NPR and got on-air about it. If you're curious, it's a 5 min interview here (I think you have to download it to listen, but they also wrote about it): https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/06/14/127838433/-windy-a-plastic-bag-caught-in-a-tree-is-kathy-frederick-s-obsession

The amount of takeout food I find half-eaten, lying in a curb, is astounding. Like, they just ate in their car, decided they were done, and made the street their garbage can. I haaaaate picking up half-eaten food, more so when the food is wet/soggy, or it's summertime, or especially when it's both. Thank you for being a normal person.

Edit to add: At first I thought you were referring only to food trash. I don't know why I thought that. I'm tired. Anyway, yeah. Trash overall is ridiculous. I've estimated I've picked up 15,000 lbs of it with my volunteer group (80% of it just me) over the last two years. People just don't care. They have accepted trash in the environment, don't mind it, add to it, and won't do a thing to rid of it.

Thank you for getting the insultation away from the water. People are terrible. Thanks to you and your BF for being awesome ones!

btw, I love what NYC Sanitation does. They have surveillance cameras trained on areas where people dump. When they do, they capture the plate, impound the vehicle, and impose a $4k fine. Love to see it. But too often people trash our state and aren't caught, leaving either volunteers or PennDOT to spend time, effort, and money cleaning up after them. Ugh.

My group recently cleaned wooded areas along roads where people just chuck stuff out car windows or things tumble in from wherever. Disheartening to find so many plastic bags, many with contents, buried just under the soil. Been there for years. We're happy to get it out, but then you think "How many more bags are out there?" Ugh.

So gross!

You're welcome! I picked it up (pun intended) as a Covid-safe activity early in the pandemic and never stopped. Very satisfying. I'm now actively working with Allentown to roll out educational or cleanup events that engage the community. We want to bring attention to the problem of littering, educating residents about why it's bad and to encourage them to help clean it up, even if it's just in front of their own house.

Excellent! Hope someone acts on it. I keep waiting for the Rt 512 off-ramp of Rt 22E to get cleaned. It's a tough spot because it's a severe bend in the road, but that's why no one other than PennDOT can get at it. Gotta re-route traffic. I mean, it wouldn't take long, less than an hour with a few people, but they have to block the lane a bit and everybody hates that. Still, I'd like to see it gone before I die. Geesh.

Aw, you're so nice. Thank you! I love what I do. I get outside, fresh air, sun, a little exercise, and I leave places better than I found them. Just wanna get those highways looking better and PennDOT is tired of me. I've successfully gotten a bunch of people on various social platforms to submit complaints about roads in the LV and elsewhere. Crossing fingers that more and different voices move the needle.

Ikr I don’t believe this cutie can be real!

Four figure? My God. So sorry.

Pretty amazing handiwork!

Very pretty. Love the perspective.. loves me some autumn in PA!