Clark Asks: “What can I do to join or start a roadside trash cleanup group? I’m tired of seeing all the overabundance of roadside trash on I-5/I-205.”
The reader who wrote into Clark Asks to find out how they might rid the street of trash may have wanted to remain anonymous, but they weren’t alone in their annoyance.
Roadway garbage is a daily blight — something that makes all of our lives ever-so-slightly, yet undeniably, more irritating. And nothing motivates action like irritation.
Take Cascade Title Company Vice President Rhett Hendrickson, who rallied his staff to join the Adopt-A-Highway program through the Washington Department of Transportation.
To join the Adopt-A-Highway Program:
1. Visit wsdot.wa.gov/Operations/adoptahwy/information.htm for general information.
2. Contact regional organizer Kevin Reese at 360-619-0620 or reesek@wsdot.wa.gov.
3. Work with Reese to select a portion of roadway. Adopted stretches are usually about 2 miles long, and selection is subject to safety concerns.
4. Pick a name for your cleanup crew. This goes on the blue Adopt-A-Highway sign that recognizes your stretch of road.
5. Collect highway cleanup gear — signs, cones, vests, hard hats, trash bags — from the local Washington State Department of Transportation office. Pickup sticks are not provided.
6. Roll up your sleeves and get to work.
You can also become a highway sponsor, who pays for a pre-approved contractor to pick up trash along the roadway. Sponsors cover the cost of placing the sign — between $300 and $900, depending on the location — as well as the contractor fee, which varies depending on a few factors. To find out more about sponsorship, visit wsdot.wa.gov/Operations/adoptahwy/Sponsorship.htm.
“We just were kind of annoyed with all the garbage piled up,” Hendrickson said.
The company took on a stretch near the East Mill Plain Boulevard exit of Interstate 5 about a year ago. Hendrickson, who grew up in Clark County, was sick of seeing the state of the roadways in his hometown, especially during the winter.
“The staff was on board so we signed up, and we try to get out once every couple months or so to tidy up,” he said.
Statewide, volunteers with the Adopt-A-Highway program picked up 21,000 bags of trash from the roadway in 2015 (the most recent numbers available), WSDOT spokeswoman Tamara Greenwell said.
In an email to The Columbian, Greenwell said the program helps supplement the $4 million the state spends annually on roadside cleanup.
“Unfortunately, even with this large expenditure, the litter cleanup needs are greater. Limited funding means cleanups often fall behind other maintenance priorities,” Greenwell wrote. Potholes, broken guardrails and cracked pavement tend to jump ahead of litter, she added.
“We rely heavily on our partners — such as local government, businesses, law enforcement and the public to help,” she wrote. “That includes working together to share cleanup responsibilities, but also increasing awareness and enforcement to prevent litter in the first place. Properly covering and tying down loads, for example, greatly reduces the amount of litter along roadways.”
Anybody can start a roadside cleanup crew through the Adopt-A-Highway program, said Kevin Reese, WSDOT’s local coordinator, but there are a few restrictions. For starters, you need to be joined by at least one other person.
“That way when you’re out picking, there’s two of you,” Reese said. “You have to have people who use their head.”
It’s a matter of safety, he added. It’s just not common sense to stand alone next to a highway. Reese also discourages people from joining pre-established road cleanup crews, urging them instead to get their own group together to adopt a new section of highway.
He avoids giving out personal contact information of Adopt-A-Highway group organizers to strangers hoping to join a crew, he said. But if you personally know an individual or business participating in the program, you’re welcome to ask them directly.
There are about 20 cleanup crews in the Southwest Washington region, which encompasses Clark and Cowlitz counties. Anyone looking to adopt a portion of the highway needs to make sure it’s not already under someone else’s custody, though some of those groups are more active than others.
“There’s still signs out there for people who haven’t picked in years,” Reese said.
And finally, you’ll have to consider the safety of the selected stretch of road. Before giving new crews the green light, Reese needs to ensure that there’s no unnecessary traffic risk to the roadside cleaners. There’s always going to be a risk, he added, but some spots are less risky than others.
“Part of my job is to make sure, is this a safe area?” Reese said.
Of course, our industrious reader could always skip the red tape and turn to crime. Larch Corrections Center participates in the Washington State Department of Corrections Work Crew program, including landscaping and cleanup. But we wouldn’t recommend it.
