Conservation District Trash Champion

Written by Shannon Wehinger on August 7, 2026. Posted in Awards

Photo caption: Left Photo: (left to right): PACD North West Region Director Cliff Lane, PACD Executive Director Amy Brown, PACD President Emil Bove, Washington County Conservation District Manager Jennifer Dann, PA DEP Deputy Secretary Office of Water Programs Jill Whitcomb, and Secretary of Agriculture Russell C. Redding. Photo by Sonia Wasco.
Photo caption: Right Photo: (left to right): PACD North West Region Director Cliff Lane, PACD President Emil Bove, PACD Executive Director Amy Brown, Westmoreland Conservation District Manager Rob Cronauer, PA DEP Deputy Secretary Office of Water Programs Jill Whitcomb, and Secretary of Agriculture Russell C. Redding. Photo by Sonia Wasco.

The Conservation District Trash Challenge pits districts against each other to compete to see who can collect the most trash in the months of April and May. The award is sponsored by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. 

As the first prize winner, the Washington County Conservation District collected 1,168 tires and 800 trash bags for a total of 30,000 pounds of trash.

This year, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful also awarded a runner-up prize for volunteer hours. Westmoreland Conservation District won a runner-up prize for most volunteer hours, putting in 200 hours of hard work!

Pounds of trash and tires collected from all districts for the 2026 challenge:

Washington       30,000

Westmoreland    20,084

Pike              440

Mifflin            360

Clarion           240

Venango          240

Juniata           180

Jefferson         120  

The total pounds of trash and tires reported was 51,664!