09/14/2026
Layers of Pittsburgh’s history are revealed when heavy rains wash out hillsides. Lately, Ranger MJ has been encountering a lot of little artifacts while on patrol.
Victorian era yinzers were a little less considerate with where they dumped their trash, and often times old bottles and ceramics were chucked over the steep undeveloped hillsides that are now preserved as parks. In some segments of trail you may find in the trail bed exposed layers of glass, metal and ceramics that have been integrated into the soil over the centuries.
Although these glass shards and ceramic sherds can be an eye sore (and something to beware of while walking dogs) they are otherwise considered an “inert” pollutant because they don’t chemically react, decompose or leech chemicals into the environment.
