In the eighth decade of his life, Ken Duerig keeps active with two obsessions. One is bicycling. The other is picking up trash.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s found ways to combine them \u2014 picking up trash as he pedals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI plan my daily rides based on where I think I may find good trash prospecting,\u201d said Duerig, 71, of Ross. \u201cI am so obsessed that if I don\u2019t find as much as I expected, I feel disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he\u2019s not fighting litter on his own, Duerig volunteers with Allegheny <\/a>CleanWays<\/a>. He has been helping the organization clean up illegal dump sites since 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time I get to a cleanup and see a bicyclist coming up, I know it must be Ken,\u201d said Matt Nemeth, communications coordinator for Allegheny CleanWays. \u201cHe\u2019s biked to every cleanup I\u2019ve seen him at, which is pretty inspiring, given the hilly terrain of communities we often work in.\u201d<\/p>\n Nominated by Allegheny CleanWays, Duerig was one of five recognized as volunteers of the year for 2025 by Keep Pennsylvania <\/a>Beautiful<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross Pennsylvania, our affiliates, volunteers and community partners continue to inspire us,\u201d said Shannon Reiter, president of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. \u201cTheir dedication, collaboration and passion for improving the places we call home have strengthened local revitalization efforts and advanced our mission in meaningful ways throughout 2025. Each one truly deserves to be celebrated.\u201d<\/p>\n Duerig comes to cleanups several times a week, bringing tremendous energy to the crew, said Erica Pasquali, land program coordinator for Allegheny CleanWays.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only does Ken volunteer on land cleanups, but he also stewards several storm drains as part of our GrateKeepers <\/a>program<\/a> and maintains several miles of roadway in the North Side area,\u201d she said. \u201cAs if Ken isn\u2019t dedicated enough, he bikes and\/or uses public transit to get to all the cleanups. Ken has been known to bike from Ross Township to McKeesport just to volunteer on a cleanup.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is our environmental hero!\u201d<\/p>\n Duerig doesn\u2019t feel the need to be recognized for what he does, but accepts the honor.<\/p>\n \u201cI get a lot of \u2018thank you\u2019 and \u2018You\u2019re doing a good thing\u2019 from passersby, but I don\u2019t really know how to respond, and recognition has nothing to do with what motivates me,\u201d he said. \u201cPerhaps my story can inspire others to follow in my footsteps and we can clean this country up.\u201d<\/p>\n A daily habit<\/p>\n Born in Haddonfield, N.J., in 1954, Duerig was a middle child in a family of five boys. His father, a child of immigrants from Switzerland, worked for Bell Telephone in Philadelphia until 1964, when a promotion took him to Harrisburg. His family came to Pittsburgh in 1968, when the father became head engineer in the Pennsylvania Bell system.<\/p>\n Duerig graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in geology. While there, he worked concessions in Yellowstone Park, where he met his wife, Carol. They\u2019ve been married for 46 years.<\/p>\n He worked in geophysics, specifically in seismic oil exploration, which took him from the swamps of Louisiana to the remote wilderness of Alaska.<\/p>\n Duerig changed careers in 1986 and became a casino dealer, working in Carson City, Nev., and later at a casino on a reservation in the state of Washington.<\/p>\n A third obsession for Duerig is skiing, which he has enjoyed since he was 14. He worked at a ski resort in Park City, Utah, in winters from 2000 to 2018, but still goes back to ski there four to six weeks each year, staying at a condo he inherited from his father in 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cThe skiing is somewhat of a vacation from picking up trash, but not really because when time allows between going skiing, I pick trash up here in Utah or wherever I am because I can\u2019t help myself and I enjoy doing it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I can do it, I don\u2019t feel right about not doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Duerig, obviously, likes to stay active in his retirement.<\/p>\n \u201cI stay fit by staying active. I stay active by staying fit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Saying he\u2019s always been a cyclist, Duerig has done numerous cross-country bike expeditions in North America and overseas.<\/p>\n \u201cI am so obsessed with it that I don\u2019t drive cars and rarely ride in them. I just stay out of their way,\u201d he said, adding he does ride buses. \u201cI have always picked up trash occasionally until about eight years ago when I started to get serious about it, and the occasional became a daily obsession.\u201d<\/p>\n Mutually inspired<\/p>\n Duerig has been all over Allegheny County and into neighboring counties. If the destination isn\u2019t good for cycling, or the weather is suspect, he takes a bus.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I ride to these CleanWays events, I see a lot of trash on the way, and I get what I can coming and going from the events. Sometimes I have had enough trash for the day and don\u2019t get it and remember to come back for it another day,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are many streets I have patrolled, too numerous to mention. There is always more to find.\u201d<\/p>\n While Allegheny CleanWays recognized him, Duerig said he is impressed by what the organization does.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have inspired me to work at higher levels,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is tough and dirty work cleaning illegal dump sites but rewarding to see the difference before and after.\u201d<\/p>\n When he gets back to Pittsburgh this spring, Duerig expects many of the places he had cleaned up to be in need again.<\/p>\n He says that\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n \u201cI enjoy doing it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gives me great satisfaction and even pride to look back on a site that I, or working with a CleanWays crew, have cleaned \u2014 and that feeling makes the effort worthwhile to me.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I stand before God, I want to be able to say, \u2018I tried.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the eighth decade of his life, Ken Duerig keeps active with two obsessions. One is bicycling. 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