Registration begins here for the Sept. 16 annual cleanup event to help reduce litter along Arizona’s state highways.

Welcome back seasoned volunteer groups and all new permit holders. Dust off those litter picker-uppers and head out with friends and family for the 6th annual Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) litter clean up held on National CleanUp Day, Saturday, Sept.16.

ADOT grants one-day permits on a first-come, first-served basis, too. We’ll do our best to find an adoptable section near your desired location. One-day permit holders have an option to extend their permit for two years at the adopted location or another adoptable site where available.

After the event, volunteer group leaders report the number of trash bags filled and how many volunteers participated. Your report helps us measure the success of the annual cleanup and all reporting groups are recognized with a printable certificate of appreciation. 

The Adopt a Highway team plans to make site visits to as many volunteer groups as logistics allow on Sept. 16. If your registered group is located on our route we will contact you to coordinate a visit prior to event day.

We'd love to see and share your National CleanUp Day photos on social media! Please tag us on social media and use the hashtag #NationalCleanUpDay.

Thank you for considering ADOT as an opportunity to unite and reduce litter in Arizona. Visit azdot.gov/adoptahighway for more information.

Arizona, Keep It Grand!

Every cleanup day is a new experience for the Prescott Litter Lifters, an Adopt a Highway volunteer group whose beginning dates back to 1981, according to group leader and co-manager Farrish Sharon.

Seven miles of state highway along state routes 69 and 89A are permitted to the group. Recently volunteers responded to a heavily littered site along State Route 69 where 15 bags were filled with personal wipes, water bottles and other trash that had been strewn along the roadway for nearly a mile.

Fortunately, Prescott Litter Lifters take action by removing litter that would eventually make its way from alongside roadways to culverts and waterways. So far this year the group has reported 327 bags of litter removed from adopted segments. That’s about 5,000 pounds of unsightly litter, not including large
or bulky items.

Once in a while volunteers find cash and loose change among the trash. Sharon told us in a previous interview that a traveler once left a note of appreciation with a $20 bill tucked inside. The most interesting find was a credible looking $100 dollar bill that was determined by the bank to be a counterfeit. Donations, along with cash found by volunteers, are used to purchase monogrammed safety vests and supplies.

Prescott Litter Lifters welcomes volunteers to participate in cleanups that happen twice weekly. That link will take you to the group’s website for contact information.

If you’d like to adopt your own 2-mile stretch of state highway in the Prescott area or another location in Arizona, please contact us or get more information at azdot.gov/adoptahighway. ADOT always needs more volunteers, but you can be a hero at home too. Take a bag with you on walks in your community to help keep the neighborhood clean. Bagging trash is great exercise and a good deed that may be contagious.

The nation's birthday is a great time to reflect on Arizonans serving the community. Last year, more than 5,900 volunteers assembled to bag litter along adopted miles of state highways. 

These families, groups and organizations made a choice to help reduce litter in their communities while in the pursuit of their own life, liberty and happiness. It’s gesture reflective of the American way. 

This Independence Day, ADOT celebrates all volunteers who provide travelers, wildlife and waterways freedom from trash. 

Join us in celebrating some of Arizona’s newest volunteer groups that are helping keep Arizona grand:

• In Memory of Slim and Lillian Curtis: Interstate 40, mileposts 224-225
• In Memory of Mary and Joseph Tamasy: State Route 64, mileposts 192-194
• Adventure Squad: US 89, mileposts 500-502
• Grand Canyon Rotary Club: State Route 64, mileposts 233-234

Whatever traditions you celebrate this holiday, please dispose of trash properly. Enjoy Fourth of July celebrations, travel safely and think of freedom from trashed highways.

Thank you to the 1,006 Adopt a Highway Volunteer groups that donate time and resources to pick up litter along Arizona highways. Want to get involved? Contact Adopt a Highway about volunteer opportunities in your area. 

ADOT Kids is a website created to spark children’s curiosity in how things work and what makes things go, tapping into their interest in science, technology, engineering and math in a fun way!  ADOT Kids has lots of free, downloadable activity sheets, links to videos and more!   

Topics include bridges, freeway design, litter, safety, snowplows, road signs and engineering. ADOT Kids provides many activities that teachers can use in their classrooms and kids can do on their own! Children can learn about engineering (maybe as a career?), bicycle safety, what drivers should do if their car comes across a dust storm and why it’s important for drivers to secure their loads. We’re adding new activities to engage, educate and entertain them while they learn about Arizona’s transportation system.  

This summer, we will be rolling out a new activity every two weeks, so check back often! Here is a new crossword puzzle about ADOT Kids to rev up your brain! Check out all there is on azdot.gov/ADOTKids!

Melissa Owen has donated hundreds of volunteer planning hours over the past 23 years with Adopt a Highway. What started out small became an All the Way to the Border cleanup event with neighbors, local businesses and organizations, reducing litter along 45-miles of State Route 286 between Three Points junction at State Route 86 and Sasabe. 

For the latest On the Road with ADOT podcast, which is embedded below, I talked with Owen about what it takes to keep southern Arizona’s Altar Valley clean.

Owen and thousands of other Adopt a Highway volunteers make a big difference in Arizona, so much so that Governor Katie Hobbs recently issued the proclamation to the right honoring their efforts. Please contact us if you want to start your own anti-littering solution. 

How many volunteers does it take to keep Arizona highways grand? 

Last year, about 6,000 volunteers picked up 12,500 bags of trash from along Arizona’s highways. The equivalent dollar amount associated with this volunteer effort is about $628,785. Considering that  — that’s a lot of dollars that could be used to dispose of trash properly. 

As we celebrate National Volunteer Week I want to thank these dedicated volunteers who spend personal time and resources year-round helping keep our highways clear of litter.

It's too bad that we need volunteers to pick up trash on our roadways. With the monsoon season approaching, it is especially important that we remind everyone that trash is a big problem in clogging our drainage system and polluting stormwater. We need our pump stations to work efficiently to remove water from the freeways in order to avoid road closures. Fast-food wrappers, plastic bags and other items tossed out the window on the highway, could contribute to roadway flooding.

For businesses, we have an Adopt a Highway Sponsor Program where roadways can be adopted for a fee, with the promise of keeping these roadways clean and beautiful. Please visit the Adopt-A-Highway website if you are interested in becoming part of the solution. We are always in need of more help.

Let's all do our part to keep our Arizona highways clean and beautiful. The less I have to talk about trash, the better.

The Arizona Department of Transportation receives hundreds of complaints about littered highways and more specifically, tire debris. 

ADOT maintenance costs to remove and dispose of tire waste from along maintained roadways have already exceeded $900,000 since July 2022. And that is separate from general litter maintenance operations.

Tire waste breaks down into small particles containing toxic chemicals that can harm the environment and leach into groundwater. Tire shards, sometimes referred to as “gators,” are hazards to travelers and the volunteers who dedicated hours removing litter from ADOT-maintained roadways. 

Gators are the remnants of a failed tire that has been resurfaced or retreaded. These tire pieces or long strips of rubber often resemble the checkered hide of an alligator – hence the name. 

Tire tread also contains thin wiring throughout the grain to help stabilize and strengthen the rubber. These wires are broken and exposed when tires blow out or retreads separate from the host tire. 

ADOT urges Adopt a Highway volunteers to wear gloves during highway cleanups and avoid sharp objects like tire wiring, or anything that may look dangerous or unfamiliar to them. If volunteers choose to pick up rubber within permitted areas, we ask them to carefully pile the rubber near filled trash bags rather than bag items that may puncture the bag. 

Before heading out on a road trip this spring, please take a few minutes before you go to inspect tires and check the tire pressure. Check out ADOT Road Trip Safety for more helpful travel tips. 

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having to change a tire or call for roadside assistance, please consider stowing the damaged tire until it can be disposed of responsibly. Contact your county waste tire recycling office for more information on the proper disposal of used and damaged tires. 

If you are wondering where all the heroes are hiding out these days, I’ve got a tip for you. 

Melissa Owen of Rancho Sierra Vista in Sasabe coordinates a 45-mile long litter cleanup each year along State Route 286, between Three Points junction at State Route 86 and Sasabe at the Arizona-Mexico border each year. 

What inspired Owen and 120 volunteers to join forces and remove 2,700 of pounds of aluminum cans, cigarette butts and building materials from along a state highway?

Imagine, for a moment, what thousands of pounds of trash looks like strewn along the roadside, deposited by careless passersby. 

For more than 23 years, Owen has imagined that scenario and taken action by donating hours of planning for the annual event with neighbors, businesses and ADOT personnel to help reduce litter on this remote stretch of highway where it may otherwise go unchecked. 

ADOT thanks Owen, Rancho Sierra Vista de Sasabe, Altar Valley Middle School, Altar Valley Conservation Alliance, Trico Electric Cooperative, Arizona Game and Fish, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Caballo Loco Ranch, Park Smith Law and all the volunteers who devoted time and resources to help keep Arizona grand!

The slideshow in this post features caring people from Arizona, Texas, Iowa, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Washington and beyond, who greeted us along the route during our volunteer outreach. 

Contact us if you can imagine volunteering and want to be part of the anti-littering solution.