Volunteers with the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Adopt a Highway program make a difference throughout the year, but the combination of Arizona Volunteer Week and Earth Day provides even more reason to get involved.
With that in mind, a group of dedicated Arizonans joined a special Adopt a Highway cleanup in Phoenix early Monday, April 22. In addition to picking up more than 20 large bags of litter in State Route 143 right of way well away from travel lanes, this event was an opportunity for new volunteers to experience Adopt a Highway and for current volunteers to demonstrate the value of the program.
“All across Arizona, Adopt a Highway volunteers are making a difference by helping keep our state grand,” said Mary Currie, ADOT’s Adopt a Highway Program Manager. “We hope showcasing our program during Arizona Volunteer Week and on Earth Day will encourage other Arizonans to join in.”
During 2023, nearly 9,000 people in 850 Adopt a Highway volunteer groups filled more than 15,000 bags with roadside litter, mainly outside of Arizona’s metropolitan areas. The dollar value of these volunteers’ work, $674,000, demonstrates the great impact and saves ADOT money that can be committed to other needs in the state highway system.
Civic-minded individuals, families, religious groups, clubs and others may receive two-year permits to clean up roadside litter on highway segments, usually a mile in each direction and largely in rural areas, that are deemed safe for volunteers.
Groups agree to pick up litter in an adopted stretch at least once per year and preferably three or more times a year. They coordinate with ADOT to arrange for safety vests, litter bags and training for pickup events and then report the results.
Another benefit: Each adopted stretch has a recognition sign bearing the Adopt a Highway group’s name.
Even if Adopt a Highway doesn’t work for you right now, everyone can volunteer to help keep Arizona grand by keeping a litter bag in their vehicle and securing loads so litter and larger items don’t blow onto roadways.
