Adopt a Highway: ‘All the Way to the Border’ volunteers bag 2 tons of litter along SR 286

More than 100 volunteers turned out for the ninth annual “All the Way to the Border” highway cleanup on Saturday, Jan 27. All 45 miles of State Route 286 are adopted by residents, businesses and organizations between Three Points junction at State Route 86 and Sasabe at the Arizona-Mexico border.  

These volunteers filled 260 trash bags and set aside enough other larger debris to fill a pickup truck bed. All of it was collected by the ADOT Three Points maintenance crew. The total haul, from aluminum cans to plastic water bottles to shredded plastic to building materials, was around two tons.  

Volunteer group leader and organizer Melissa Owen began organizing cleanups on SR 286 nearly three decades ago. Nine of those years have been dedicated to cleaning the entire highway from end to end. Owen said, “Our Altar Valley community comes together with volunteers from all over the Tucson area to pick up trash along the highway. It’s what our friends and business associates see, and the impression they get of our neighborhood.”

Along the cleanup route volunteers told us what inspires them to show up for the annual event:  

Local rancher Joe King said, “Our family has lived in this valley since 1895. We’re very proud of being here, and we’re proud of being stewards of the land.”

Pablo Peregrina is a second-year participant with the Tucson Samaritans who came out to lend a hand and honor the memory of a friend and fellow volunteer. “It’s a good feeling to give to the community and contribute to keeping highways clean,” Peregrina said. 

Four-time participant Fritz Reifert, from Ypsilanti, Michigan, visits his sister each year and stays for the cleanup. “It makes you feel so good to clean up the highway and make everything look so much better,” Reifert said.

ADOT thanks Owen of Rancho Sierra Vista de Sasabe/ Pozo Verde Wildlife Preserve, Altar Valley Middle School, Altar Valley Conservation Alliance, Trico Electric Cooperative, Park Smith Law of Hunt, Texas, and all volunteers who devoted time and support to help keep Arizona grand.

If you’d like to learn more about adopting a highway in your area please visit http://azdot.gov/adoptahighway.

And enjoy the Flickr album from the event right here: