It’s that time again: a chill is in the air, leaves are beginning to turn, and crews are getting ready for the year’s last Adopt-A-Highway pickup along state roadways. Participants in the popular Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) program will be picking up litter along highway roadsides from Saturday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Oct. 2.

“We’d like to thank our thousands of Adopt-A-Highway crews for their dedication and hard work to help keep Michigan roadsides clean,” said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. “Every year, these volunteers provide a financial boost for MDOT and our entire state. Their service is greatly appreciated.”

There are three scheduled Adopt-A-Highway pickups each year: one each in the spring, summer and fall. Michigan volunteers have been participating in the program since 1990. Every year, Adopt-A-Highway crews collect about 70,000 bags of trash. The volunteer efforts of nearly 3,200 Adopt-A-Highway groups generate about $5 million annually in value for state taxpayers.

During the pickup period, motorists should be on the lookout for volunteers wearing high-visibility, yellow-green safety vests. MDOT provides free vests and trash bags, and arranges to haul away the trash.
Volunteers include members of civic groups, businesses and families. Crew members have to be at least 12 years old and each group must number at least three people.

Sections of highway are still available for adoption. Interested groups should check the MDOT Adopt-A-Highway website at www.michigan.gov/adoptahighway for more information and the name of their county’s coordinator, who can specify available roadsides. Groups are asked to adopt a section of highway for at least two years; there is no fee to participate. Adopt-A-Highway volunteer groups are recognized with signs bearing a group’s name posted along stretches of adopted highway.