Annual Jack Sedlak Community Clean-Up set for April 29 in Monroeville

Last year, Joe Sedlak said he couldn’t remember when the roadside litter in Monroeville was so bad.

And while winter in the Pittsburgh area has been mild in temperature and precipitation, the wind has been another story.

“A lot of people seem to think the wind we’ve had the last few months has something to do with it, but there are a few places where the trash is just really stacked up,” Sedlak said. “Another thing is that, with the mild winter, more people are out and about — that could be adding to it as well.”

Each year, Sedlak follows in the footsteps of his father, former Monroeville Councilman Jack Sedlak. The elder Sedlak started a community clean-up day in the 1990s. Since his death from cancer in 1995, the annual clean-up day has been held in his memory.

Last year, about 425 volunteers spent a day in late April cleaning roadside litter in the municipality. Sedlak’s group regularly cleans Monroeville Boulevard between the municipal building and Route 22.

“It’s much worse this year than last year,” Sedlak said.

In 2021, the day’s haul included 1,000 bags of litter, 40 tires and seven televisions.

This year’s clean-up is set for 9-11 a.m. April 29, with a picnic to follow. It will be the 28th year it’s taken place.

Volunteers can sign up to participate through the Monroeville Parks and Recreation website, Monroeville.pa.us/165/Parks-Recreation. Fliers posted throughout the community also include a QR code that can be scanned with a smart phone and links to a registration form.

“This year we have a grand prize, a 55-inch TV donated by Amazon, that we’re going to raffle off at the picnic,” Sedlak said. “Not a bad prize just for cleaning up a little and coming to the party afterward.”