The second Adopt-A-Highway cleanup of 2019 is starting Saturday. The event runs through July 21. Volunteers regularly collect more than 65,000 to 70,000 bags of litter off the sides of the road each year. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) program began in 1990 and has grown to involve nearly 2,800 groups cleaning more than 6,000 miles of highway.
You must be at least 12 years old to volunteer and each group must include at least three people. Each group adopts a section of a highway for at least two years. There is no fee to participate and you'll get a sign with your group name posted along the stretches of highway the group has adopted. MDOT will provide free safety vests and trash bags as well as arrange to haul away the trash each group collects. To see what highways are still available for adoption, click here.
Several landfills in southwestern Michigan are also pitching in to help the program, each agreeing to accept trash generated by the three annual AAH pickups at no charge. Those landfills include C&C Landfill in Calhoun County, Orchard Hill Landfill in Berrien County, and Westside Landfill in St. Joseph County.
It's also important to remember to drive with extra caution as volunteers are beautifying the highways. Volunteers will be wearing high-visibility, yellow-green safety vests that are required by federal regulations.
The final Adopt-A-Highway pickup of 2019 is scheduled for the fall. It will take place from September 21 to 29.
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