Nine hardworking volunteers contributed a total of 45 hours to reclaim a two-mile stretch of Old State Road in Swatara State Park, Lebanon County, on May 5, 2001.
Broken glass, cans, construction and demolition debris, and an old appliance added up to 3.23 tons of trash for proper disposal. The volunteers also gathered 128 tires for recycling from the roadside. The trash spilled down the slope from the roadway toward a tributary of Swatara Creek, past the remains of an old lock system.
Participants met at the South Borrow Pit, approximately 1.5 miles from the I-81 overpass.
Park personnel loaded and trucked the trash to a nearby rolloff container provided by Lebanon Farms Disposal. Walter's Services provided a comfort station,
A&R Tire Sales and Recycling provided tire recycling, and
Oliver's Express supplied lunches.
Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority donated two tons of landfill space.
Three volunteers will be monitoring Old State Road for any signs of future dumping, working with park personnel.
Swatara State Park is comprised of 3,515 acres of woodlands and rolling fields along Interstate 81 between the Second and Blue mountains. Winding for eight miles through the park is Swatara Creek which once provided water to a branch of the historic Union Canal. Part of the Appalachian Trail traverses the southern portion of the park and the Swatara Multi-Purpose Trail crosses the northern part of the park.
Learn more about other illegal dump sites in state forests and parks.
This page last updated May 17, 2001.
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