$11 mil to pick up Pennsylvania litter

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reports that more than 186,000 volunteers cleaned 19,373 miles of roads, trails and shorelines in Pennsylvania during the Great American Cleanup of PA, which ran from March 1 to May 31.

"My sincere thanks to everyone who gave of their time and worked so hard to improve our state's environment and appearance," Transportation Secretary Al Biehler said. "While it's unfortunate that some inconsiderate people still choose to litter, we are lucky to have thousands of volunteers who participate in Adopt-A-Highway and join in cleanup events every year."

During the cleanup, 12 million pounds of trash was collected, with 3.7 million pounds collected by PennDOT's Adopt-A-Highway program volunteers.

PennDOT spends about $11 million annually for litter pickup with department staff. That should be enough to make anyone shed a tear.