GIVING US A LOOK AT THE WORK THAT THEY PUT INTO TODAY’S CLEANUP. IT TAKES A TEAM EFFORT TO MAKE SURE LITTER STAYS AWAY FROM THE RIVERS, AS WELL AS THE TRAILS HERE AND ACROSS PITTSBURGH AND THE FOLKS WITH THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITATION AUTHORITY ARE HOPING TO DO JUST THAT BY PICKING UP ONE PIECE OF LITTER AT A TIME. IT’S A SIMPLE MISSION, BUT WITH A HUGE IMPACT. IT’S BASICALLY JUST TO CLEAN UP THE RIVERS. BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY, GIVE BACK A LITTLE BIT, AND MAKE SURE THAT NONE OF THIS WASTE GOES INTO OUR SYSTEM, BECAUSE IT’S JUST EXTRA WORK FOR US. FOR THE 20TH TIME, MORE THAN 75 VOLUNTEERS WITH THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY SPLIT UP INTO TEAMS TO TACKLE LITTER ACROSS THREE AREAS IN PITTSBURGH. AS FOR WHAT THEY HAVE FOUND IN YEARS PAST? YOU NAME IT, THEY PROBABLY FOUND IT. WE’VE HAD SO MANY BAGS BEFORE. WE’VE HAD TIRES, REFRIGERATORS, YOU NAME IT, WE’VE HAD IT. WE’VE EVEN HAD TO CALL THE POLICE BECAUSE WE FOUND BONES BEFORE. YOU KNOW, THERE’S EVERYTHING KIND OF THAT YOU COULD THINK OF IS OUT THERE. AND THERE’S, YOU KNOW, THERE’S SOME DANGER TO THIS TOO. THERE’S NEEDLES, THERE’S THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT PEOPLE ARE THROWING INTO THE RIVER AND ALONG THE RIVER. SO WE REALLY HAVE TO BE CAREFUL AND MINDFUL OF WHAT WE’RE PICKING UP. OFFICIALS SAY JUST LAST YEAR, THE GROUP THREW OUT AROUND 90 BAGS OF TRASH. 14 TIRES, NINE TVS AND A FULL SECTIONAL COUCH. ANYTHING THAT WE CAN KEEP OUT OF OUR SYSTEM IS A GREAT HELP TO US, AND ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT IS ALSO A GREAT HELP TO US BECAUSE WE NOT ONLY CLEAN THE WATER, WE’RE HAPPY TO HAVE OUR RIVERS AND TRIBUTARIES CLEAN AS WELL. A SMALL STEP FORWARD FOR A BETTER PITTSBURGH. OFFICIALS WITH THE SANITATION AUTHORITY HOPE FOLKS TAKE AWAY THAT THEY CAN JUST PUT ONE PIECE OF LITTER AWAY IN THE GARBAGE. IT WILL GO A LONG WAY IN KEEPING THE ENVIRONMENT ACROSS PITTSBURGH CLEAN
More than 75 volunteers join Allegheny County Sanitary Authority litter cleanup
Updated: 12:55 PM EDT May 5, 2026
More than 75 volunteers from the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority came together to clean up litter across three areas in Pittsburgh, marking the authority’s 20th year.”It’s basically just to clean up the rivers, be part of the community, get back a little bit, and make sure that none of this waste goes into our system because it’s just extra work for us,” said Evan Novosel of the Allegheny County Sanitation Authority. Novosel said they have picked up a wide range of items during past cleanups. “We’ve had so many bags before. We’ve had tires, refrigerators, you name it, we’ve had it. We’ve even had to call the police because we found bones before. You know, there’s everything that you could think of is out there, and there’s some danger that there’s too. There’s needles, there’s things you don’t know what people are throwing into the river and along the river. So we really have to be careful and mindful of what we’re picking up,” Novosel said. Officials said that last year, the group collected approximately 90 bags of trash, 14 tires, nine TVs, and even a full sectional couch. “Anything that we can keep out of our system is a great help to us, and anything that we can do to help the environment is also a great help to us because we not only clean the water, we’re happy to have our rivers and tributaries clean as well,” Novosel said.
PITTSBURGH —
More than 75 volunteers from the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority came together to clean up litter across three areas in Pittsburgh, marking the authority’s 20th year.
“It’s basically just to clean up the rivers, be part of the community, get back a little bit, and make sure that none of this waste goes into our system because it’s just extra work for us,” said Evan Novosel of the Allegheny County Sanitation Authority.
Novosel said they have picked up a wide range of items during past cleanups.
“We’ve had so many bags before. We’ve had tires, refrigerators, you name it, we’ve had it. We’ve even had to call the police because we found bones before. You know, there’s everything that you could think of is out there, and there’s some danger that there’s too. There’s needles, there’s things you don’t know what people are throwing into the river and along the river. So we really have to be careful and mindful of what we’re picking up,” Novosel said.
Officials said that last year, the group collected approximately 90 bags of trash, 14 tires, nine TVs, and even a full sectional couch.
“Anything that we can keep out of our system is a great help to us, and anything that we can do to help the environment is also a great help to us because we not only clean the water, we’re happy to have our rivers and tributaries clean as well,” Novosel said.