In an effort to encourage residents to clean up highways and roads in the state, Gov. Ed Rendell has proclaimed April Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Month.

This year marks the 26th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PennDOT) Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful campaign, dedicated to cleaning up litter on the state's highways, said Richard Ebeling, manager of PennDOT's statewide highway beautiful programs.

The governor traditionally dedicates the month of April as well as the last Saturday of the month to the program, which is aimed at cleaning up roadway litter, Ebeling said.

Later this month, the state will also celebrate Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Day. About 200,000 volunteers usually participate, Ebeling said.

In addition to highway beautification, the volunteers also help PennDOT save money.

"[Litter removal] still costs PennDOT in the neighborhood of $10 million; if we didn't have volunteers that number could easily double or triple," Ebeling said, adding that volunteers help free employees up for other important projects.

PennDOT's Adopt-a-Highway program is an important part of this month's cleanup program.

Groups that adopt stretches of highway are asked to go out on Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Day as one of the four cleanup days they dedicate to picking up litter each year, Ebeling said.

The section of road to be cleaned must meet certain safety standards, Ebeling said, and groups that want to volunteer are required to watch a safety video before taking to the street to clean up.

He added that PennDOT provides the equipment -- including safety vests -- groups need to complete their litter removal.

For the State College Borough, litter clean-up is an ongoing process.

"We do a regular spring clean-up with street sweepers," Mark Whitfield, public works director, said.

"We have an on-going program where different groups of volunteers help clean up."

Because the borough's main roads are swept twice a week and residential roads are cleaned once weekly, litter is not a big problem, Whitfield said.

Campus beautification programs will also continue this month, said Paul Ruskin, Office of Physical Plant (OPP) spokesman.

To help keep campus grounds beautiful, OPP plants about 25,000 plants annually and employs a team of more than 40 landscapers, Ruskin said.

Student volunteers sweep up and pick up litter, among other activities, in high volume areas, he added.

As part of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Month, Penn State landscaping students and OPP landscapers will join April 10 to create a new garden at the Hintz Family Alumni Center, Ruskin said.