Sharpsburg considering volunteer litter program to beautify streets

Sharpsburg councilman Jon Jaso wants residents to walk the walk when it comes to keeping the borough clean.

He is spearheading an Adopt-a-Street program where volunteers would pledge to rid litter from a section of borough roads.

“They would have to do a cleanup once a quarter, or more if they wanted to,” Jaso said.

He proposed that each volunteer or group would be responsible for a stretch of road at least four blocks long.

“It’s not a fundraiser,” Jaso said.

Rather, it’s a way to engage residents in community spirit and pride

The costs are minimal to the borough but the rewards would be great, he said.

Jaso molded the plan after the state’s widely known Adopt-a-Highway project, where people beautify two miles of road at a time. Cleanups take place twice a year with small groups roving along the highway to collect trash.

“I love the idea,” council President Brittany Reno said.

She suggested that the borough might be able to provide safety vests and garbage bags for participants.

“We have a huge litter problem and this might be a nice way to move the marker on that,” Reno said

Already, the borough sponsors a community-wide cleanup twice a year that sees much success.

Particularly with the Earth Day event in spring, the community delves into the effort to wage a friendly competition against the Etna Community Organization. The two groups in 2019 drew 320 volunteers and filled two 30-yard dumpsters with trash.

Jaso said it might be nice to recognize volunteers who adopt a block in a way similar to PennDOT’s program that erects signs announcing who the road “belongs” to by keeping it clean.

Reno said the board would need to devise a plan for collection of the garbage by the public works department.

“We don’t want to have bags sitting all over the place,” she said.

Council members are expected to review the idea and possibly vote on it in coming months.