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Picking Up the Poconos Now Underway

CHESTNUTHILL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — More than a dozen employees from the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau traded their guide maps for trash bags to pick up litter...

CHESTNUTHILL TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- More than a dozen employees from the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau traded their guide maps for trash bags to pick up litter on Route 209 near Brodheadsville on Wednesday.

"It's super important for us to get out there and do something. It's a problem. We all see it. We all know it's a problem, so it's time that we finally start addressing it," said Kelly Shannon, Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau.

The cleanup effort is part of "Pick Up the Poconos" and PennDOT's Adopt-a-Highway program.

 

A contracted group is now paid to handle litter on interstates in the Poconos. These guys and gals and other volunteer groups are taking care of local roads.

"It's of great importance to us because when we have our visitors come, we want them to have a good long lasting great impression so this is very important," said Staci Barklow, Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau.

Now even though this is the first trash pickup for the visitors bureau, it's certainly not the last, especially after they saw how many bags they were able to fill up.

"We've seen beer cans, Red Bull cans, I found a woman's razor out there, glass bottles, cups of coffee. It's unfortunate," said Karli Vincent, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau.

"Lots of dead animals, lottery tickets, lots of scratch-offs. I don't know why people think they should just throw the out the window if they lose," said Barklow.

Members of the visitors bureau say it's their job to bring people to the Poconos, so making sure it's clean is a top priority.

"The Pocono Mountains are really known for its natural beauty and when visitors come and see this, it kind of takes away from the magic," said Shannon.

More scheduled summer cleanups are expected to take place throughout the summer.

For more information, click here.

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