This is our first Trash pick up for this year. Meet for Breakfast at 7:00 am at the Lyndon DIner, then the trash pickup at 8:00 am. Usually done in 2-3 hours.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, the York County Geocaching Society adopted a road four years ago. Every year we schedule 4 cleanups. I usually put these together every other month when the weather warms. The only other requirement from Penndot is that we do one during the month of Earth Day (April) and one during Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Month (October)
These trash pickups, despite the activity we are doing, are a lot of fun. You might find that hard to believe, but ask anyone that’s participated in the past. I really think of it as a walking 4th Thursday event.
Here are the rules set up by Penndot that we must follow.
1. Know emergency procedures such as the location of the nearest emergency facility and how to quickly summon the police or an ambulance.
2. Provide their own first-aid kit and include kit with other supplies during litter pickups.
3. Avoid overexertion and heat problems by drinking water and taking breaks.
4. Carpool to the litter pickup site
5. Wear the recommended attire: long sleeves¸ blue jeans or long pants, leather shoes or boots and gloves. Wear the safety vest provided by PennDOT.
6. Be careful of contact with poison plants, bees, wasps, hornets, ticks, fire ants, and snakes. The recommended attire will usually prevent irritations from most poison plants.
7. Pay special attention to the handling of broken glass. Participants must be careful not to step or kneel on broken glass.
8. Be aware of visibility problems.
9. Be prepared for any unexpected behavior of motorists.
10. Park vehicles a safe distance from the traveled roadway.
11. Always walk facing oncoming traffic.
12. Do not stand or jump on guide rail, drainage pipes, or on concrete walls.
13. Be aware of all known allergies of volunteers before participation
14. Participants must be careful not to step or kneel on broken glass.
15. Avoid all horseplay or demonstrations of any nature on the right-of way.
16. Pick up one side at a time when cleaning when cleaning a multi-lane highway with a median.
Vehicles should remain on the same side of the highway as the volunteers.
17. Never cross over or pick up trash on the traveled pavement.
18. Do not possess or drink alcoholic beverages.
19. Provide appropriate and adequate adult supervision when youth groups are involved in litter pickups; for example one adult per eight youths.
20. Avoid peak traffic hours and extreme inclement weather conditions.
21. Avoid hazardous materials such as old car batteries or any unidentified questionable items and animal carcasses
22. Stay clear of all construction areas.
We meet for breakfast at the Lyndon Diner at 7:00. It is not necessary to attend the breakfast to get credit for the CITO, we just find that it is a nice way to get going in the morning before heading out to the road.
We will start around 8:00 AM and probably be finished by 11:00. It's pretty easy work and gives us a chance to make a difference. The more people that attend the faster it will be completed.
Post if you are interested in participating in this event so I can get all the cool stuff we need from our friends at PENNDOT. If you feel that you can’t do the trash pickup but still would like to help, contact me because there are some additional jobs to this that we could always use some assistance.