The spring Adopt a Highway cleanup period starts this Saturday. Michigan Department of Transportation spokesperson Dan Weingarten tells us around 2,900 volunteer groups from across Michigan have adopted more than 6,000 miles of road and will pick up trash along them. He notes the volunteer groups aren’t the only ones who help.
“We’ve had a number of landfills in southwestern Michigan that have stepped up to help out the Adopt a Highway program,” Weingarten said. “In exchange for some signs that recognize their participation, they are allowing the groups that pick up trash in that area to dump it in the landfill without having to pay any tipping fees.”
Orchard Hill Landfill in Watervliet and Southeast Berrien County Landfill near Niles are among those taking part. In a typical year, Adopt a Highway volunteers collect 60,000 to 70,000 bags of trash, an estimated $5 million value for the state. Weingarten says MDOT staff couldn’t pick up that much trash themselves. The volunteers will be out with plastic bags and protective vests this weekend, and everyone’s asked to drive extra cautious when near them.
