Larry's Journal: Cleaning Up Washington County is a Dirty Job

Fern Sibert of Washington testified that it’s a dirty job trying to keep Washington County Clean and Tidy.

And It’s hard to focus on accolades and proclamations when you have six garbage bags full of dirty bottle caps in your garage that need to be cleaned.

Fern, the founder of Clean and Tidy our County, a non-profit whose mission is to clean up trash along the streets and roads in our county, was honored by proclamation at Thursday’s Board of Commissioners’ meeting. She was commended for organizing highway clean-up days and for spearheading a recycling campaign that resulted in the collection of 22,000 pounds of bottle caps. These caps were used to make 106 benches, a half dozen picnic tables, some birdbaths, landscaping timbers, and flowerpots which were sold at a discount to local residents and businesses. She pointed out that that she doesn’t accept government funding, allowing her to have more control over her project, which has included six trips to a recycling facility in Evansville, Indiana.

She pointed out that one of her goals is to make Washington County tidy when folks from around the world descend on Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft next year. This, she told the Commissioners, will make people want to visit Washington County, bring in more revenue, and give the board more money to spend on county projects.

While addressing the board, Fern commended the Clean and Tidy volunteers, along with the county and city elected officials who showed up to help with the volunteer appreciation banquet she hosted last month.

“We did have an outstanding number one dish washer… and we have evidence,” Fern said, as she held up a photo of me washing dishes in the kitchen of the Holy Trinity Church in Washington. She presented me with two copies – one for me and one for my wife Mary Jeanne to remind her that I know how to wash dishes.

Washing dishes at the Clean and Tidy Our County Volunteer Appreciation Banquet
at the Holy Trinity Church in Washington on February 1, 2025.

Although Fern graciously accepted the proclamation, she was more concerned with getting back to the work of recruiting and organizing volunteers. She told me about her efforts as we sat in the back of the meeting room on a bench she donated to the county.

She explained that unfortunately the bottle cap project is on hold, because she needs volunteers to help clean the caps which must be free of food, dirt, and paper before they are transported to the recycling plant. It’s a hard job and not one for the faint of heart.

It’s been a long road for Fern who started picking up trash over 12 years ago when her children were traveling back to Pennsylvania for Easter.

“I was embarrassed because the Jefferson and Jessop exit ramps were disgusting,” she said. “So, I asked my friends to help me clean them up. We picked up 30 bags of trash on each ramp that day.”

Since then, she and her ever-growing posse of volunteers have been picking up trash on the Interstate 70 and 79 corridors of Washington County. Their efforts have been made possible by several corporate sponsors that have helped with both the trash-collecting and the bottle cap projects. And while raising money isn’t her goal, she did find a total of $400 on the side of the road in 2022, and about $86 last year. The money was used to buy supplies.

Fern is looking for volunteers to join her from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. April 5, April 12, May 3 and May 17 for highway cleanup sessions. Volunteers gather at 7:30 a.m. at either the Beau Street Park and Ride or the Jessop Park and Ride on Interstate 70. Details and signup information can always be found by clicking on the Clean & Tidy our County Facebook Page.