In this newsletter: Our mission; Happy New Year; We're wishing; "If I'm elected..."; An act of caring; A glitter story; Official spring Redd Up dates; 90 in and counting; Mr. Litterman's Top 10; "I Litter" awards; Garbagevilles; Important phone numbers; We want volunteers; Bad things happen with litter; Trash talkers; At the pump trivia
To inspire people throughout the city and region to collect litter and connect neighborhoods.
We hope the new year will be very special for you. Health. Happiness. And hours of picking up litter to keep our neighborhoods clean. This is a special new year for our Newslitter as well. We started writing it in 2005. We're beginning our fifth year of writing off litter. HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Pittsburgh will do well to follow the example of two nearby cities that happen to be among the five cleanest cities in America, according to the Reader's Digest poll.
In Buffalo (#3), a fleet of 13 high tech street sweepers, deployed 24 hours a day during non-winter months, keep streets clean of debris. Buffalo also has dramatically curbed its rat problem by distributing large securely covered garbage bins to every residence in the city.
In Columbus (#4), there was a sudden increase in ugly graffiti on both public and private property in the 1990s. To spruce up unsightly areas, Columbus has committed to removing graffiti within two days of its appearance. Through the city's Neighborhood Pride program, a handful of communities each year get a solid week of concentrated cleanup, including tree trimming, hydrant painting, graffiti abatement, bulk trash pickup and litter removal.
Congratulations to one of our Clean Pittsburgh Stewards, Theresa Smith of Westwood, who has been selected as the Democratic candidate for the City Council to fill the seat vacated by Dan Deasy. Theresa wrote, "Boris, I guarantee if I am elected I will still pick up litter across the region."
A daughter, living in Dormont, was concerned about the excessive litter on the street where her parents live in Beechview. Her call for help was resolved within a few hours when Beechview volunteers assured the woman the street would be cleaned that weekend during the monthly cleanup and the block would be adopted for regular cleanup. This happened the day before Christmas.
I got a season's greetings from the Perry Hilltop Citizens' Council. It was all about litter that turned into glitter. It read, "On October 18, the Perry Hilltop Citizen's Council was able to make a difference in Perry Hilltop. Between the 1600 and 2900 blocks of Perrysville Avenue the sidewalks were cleared of trash, litter and debris. Over 50 volunteers from the University of Pittsburgh and PHCC participated. The University of Pittsburgh 'Pitt Makes a Difference' that day supplied the Perry Hilltop community with a busload of Pitt students (their handsome faces in front of the bus is on the greetings) committed to make a difference. Our success was due not just to the volunteers but also to the generous support of several local businesses." Thanks went to Robinson Funeral Home, Reformed Presbyterian Home, Triangle Tech, The Pittsburgh Project, Angel's Place, Keystone Plumbing, Allegheny CleanWays, Andrew & Karolyn Burlando and Citizens Against Litter.
The "official" date of the Great PA. Cleanup is Saturday, April 25 which comes after Earth Day (April 22). For Pittsburgh's three-day Redd Up weekend, Stash the Trash for school youngsters will be Friday, April 24. Most neighborhood volunteers will clean up Saturday, April 25. Other neighborhoods will clean up Sunday, April 26.
The number of communities that will participate in the spring Redd Up is growing. Citizens Against Litter has heard positively from over 90, including 80 city neighborhoods: Allentown, Arlington, Beautify Banksville Road, Bedford Dwellings, Beechview, Beltzhoover, Bloomfield, Bluff, Bon Air, Brightwood, Brighton Heights, Brookline, Carrick, California-Kirkbride, Central Northside, Chartiers, Crafton Heights, Downtown, Duquesne Heights, Duquesne University Evergreen, East Allegheny, East Carnegie, East Hills, East Liberty, Elliott, Fineview, Friendship, Friends of the Riverfront (Jail Trail), Garfield, Glen Hazel, Greenfield, Hays, Hazelwood, Highland Park, Homewood, Larimer, Lawrenceville, Lower Hill, Lincoln Place, Knoxville, Manchester, Mount Oliver, Mt. Washington, Mexican War Streets, New Homestead, Northview Heights, Oakland, Observatory Hill, Overbrook (Fairhaven Greenway), Park Place, Perry Hilltop, Pittsburgh Job Corps, Polish Hill, Regent Square, Ridgemont, Shadyside, Sheraden, South Side, South Side Slopes, Spring Garden, Spring Hill, Squirrel Hill, St. Clair, Stanton Heights, Summer Hill, Swisshelm Park, Troy Hill, Uptown, Westwood and Windgap.
From Allegheny County comes the following communities: Aspinwall, Dormont, Mount Oliver, Penn Hills, South Park and Wilkinsburg. In Beaver County, Darlington. In Butler County, Butler.
In Shadyside, our volunteers bend and pick up these kinds of litter the most. Our Top 10. Put a stop to this and Citizens Against Litter may literally go out of business.
Advertising flyers become litter in Shadyside and elsewhere. These businesses are responsible and put their business on Shadyside streets.
Garbagevilles are houses, buildings, streets, alleys and places that look awful because of litter, garbage, unswept leaves, cigarette butts and other stuff. Here are some.
Need to contact the city about something that has been bothering you, like potholes and graffiti? Call the 311 Response line (alternate number is 412-255-2621). Your request will be logged and sent to the proper department. Want to contact someone directly? The following list may help.
Volunteers are wanted. The work is light. Hours are your own. No meetings. No dues. No money. Payoff: cleaner streets and community pride. Please contact boris.weinstein@verizon.net or call 412-688-9120.
Here are some excerpts from a recent article in the Los Angeles Times on new research about the "broken windows" theory conducted in The Netherlands.
The presence of four shopping carts strewn about a parking lot in violation of posted signs boosted the percentage of people who litter to 58% from 30%.
The sound of fireworks increased the percentage of litterbugs to 80% from 52%.
The presence of litter in an area resulted in doubling of the number of people stealing.
69% of people near a wall covered with graffiti were litterers; while only 33% of people near a graffiti-free wall were litterers.
An envelope with $6 was "planted" on a mailbox. Look what happened: 13% took the cash from a "clean" mailbox; theft jumped to 25% when there was trash placed around the mailbox; theft went up to 27% with graffiti on the mailbox.
Read the full article online at http://bit.ly/8Ae1.
One of my cleaver friends has branded me "The Original Trash Talker." To this I say, "Thank you." However, my choice is former Steeler Joey Porter. He'd be the ideal spokesperson for our Redd Ups. Now we're talkin'.
Finally, this has nothing to do with litter. Lifted from Woman's World, December 8. Folks no longer had to buy gas by the can and fill their own tanks after the first drive-in gas station opened in Pittsburgh in 1913. "Think a fill-up is pricy now? In those days gas went for 27 cents a gallon-that's a whopping $5.98 in today's dollars!"
A complete list of past Litterature is available in our archives.