Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

When ADOT talks trash, it's usually a little different than what most mean by "trash talk." When we "talk trash" it's usually about cleaning up litter along state highways and the Adopt a Highway volunteer program.

Yesterday we launched an activity for kids to submit their version of the Keep it Grand logo, reminding everyone not to litter. We can't wait to see the art you submit to [email protected]! 

Today we have a short quiz to test your knowledge of litter in Arizona and the Adopt a Highway program. You can get answers to the quiz on the ADOT website and the Adopt a Highway site. Good luck! If you get all the answers right, we give you permission to "talk trash!"

EDITOR'S NOTE: During this unprecedented time, ADOT is creating transportation activities for kids. Please visit azdot.gov/ADOTKids or use the hashtag #ADOTKids on ADOT's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what we have going on. 

Everyone wants a litter-free Arizona. That's why we’re challenging kids of all ages to create colorful reminders for everyone to keep Arizona and its highways looking grand. Join the fun by submitting a photo of a sidewalk chalk drawing – or another type of drawing – showing the Keep It Grand logo at right. 

ADOT will add every picture we receive by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, to a slideshow that will be posted on this page Friday, April 24. NOTE: We've added the pictures below, along with a video in which I answer your questions and feature your art.

Here's how to participate and share your art with the world:

1. Use the logo on the right for inspiration, then grab some chalk and draw the Keep It Grand logo on your driveway or wherever safe and permissible to do so. Feel free to draw and share your own Keep It Grand or anti-litter message as well. NOTE: Don't have sidewalk chalk? Not a problem! Any way you're able to create and share your drawing is just fine with us. 
2. Send your photo to ADOT by email ([email protected]). We can't post photos of you with your art, but we'd love to show off your art. Feel free to share your photos with us using the hashtag #ADOTKids on Twitter (we're @ArizonaDOT), Facebook (/AZDOT) and Instagram (@Arizona_DOT).
3. Please send me your questions about ADOT's Adopt a Highway program, the problem of roadside litter and the Litter Hotline that I explain below. I'll answer them in a video while I also celebrate your art. It'll be posted along with the slideshow.  
4. Challenge your friends to participate!

Show your love for keeping Arizona grand and remember to stash your trash during outdoor activities, no matter your method of transportation, until it can be properly disposed of. 

If you'd like to learn more about what I do managing ADOT's Adopt a Highway progams, please visit azdot.gov/adoptahighway and this ADOT Blog post about yours truly. You also can explore ADOT Blog posts about our many Adopt a Highway volunteers, including student groups. And you can learn about our Litter Hotline, which allows people to report drivers they see trashing state highways. We send the vehicle's owner a letter explaining how litter harms Arizona and include a small litter bag to take along on trips. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about these subjects. 

Video: 

Slideshow:

The former gold mining town of Congress is found at the junction of State Routes 71 and 89 in northwestern Arizona. Large mining operations haven’t existed here since the 1930s, but one volunteer group in the area still finds treasures of another kind. 

John King, a member of the First Baptist Church of Congress and Adopt a Highway volunteer group, talked to me about a couple of the most interesting items found by group members. Tom Boyles, the church treasurer, spotted a $20 bill along the highway. Boyles insisted it be deposited back into the church coffer. You can spot Tom’s find in the photo on the right captured by Pastor Paul Gleason.

That incident was topped nearly two years ago when volunteer Ray Monlux found a working cellphone. John had a compatible charger for the phone and was able to access a few phone numbers, making it possible to return the phone to its owner. The real surprise came when they learned the owner lived a couple of miles up the road and the phone was lost seven months before Ray found it!

It is not unusual for this group to collect 10 or more bags of litter during an outing. According to King, the volunteer group shown in the photo changes between 11 and 30 members. Winter visitors are always welcomed and increase participation. 

Sure, the group has found a few treasures over the years, but what’s even more impressive is the positive difference made with each cleanup in their community throughout the year. While mining no longer exists in Congress, there are certainly hearts of gold found in these volunteers.   

Arizona has hundreds of unadopted miles available that could use your help. If you are interested in starting your own group please visit the ADOT Adopt a Highway webpage.  

Arizona is looking pretty good for turning 108, which happens on this Valentine's Day. Please allow me to suggest one way we can ensure this centenarian continues to look her best. Adopt a highway. The Adopt a Highway program is an opportunity to help out your community while also making sure Arizona presents her best side.

The Adopt a Highway program isn’t nearly as old as our state, but like Arizona it is still going strong. It began in 1988 under then-Gov. Rose Mofford. In the first couple of years, 100 organizations collected litter along 200 miles of freeway. Today there are more than 900 groups picking up litter along 1,600 miles of Arizona highways. But there is still more to do, and more volunteers are needed.

More than 51 billion pieces of litter are left on roads across the country. That translates to more than 6,700 pieces of trash per mile! While the Adopt a Highway Volunteer program has hundreds of volunteers, there are still hundreds of unadopted miles that could use some love. So, if you want to show the Valentine State your love, please look into the ADOT Adopt a Highway program.  

It can be difficult to come up with one-of-a-kind gifts expressing your love on Valentine’s Day. Leave it ADOT to find you a gift that no one else will have!

A couple of years ago, we suggested road trip to Love or Valentine, Arizona. Take it one step further this year and adopt a highway in your sweetie’s name near Love or Valentine. We’ll even post a sign along their mile!

The Adopt a Highway volunteer program began in 1988 and now boasts hundreds of volunteers who clean up nearly 1,600 miles of landscape across Arizona. Adopting is easy. Each group adopts a mile and cleans each side of the highway along that mile for a minimum of two years. Groups are encouraged to schedule pickups three or more time per year. Volunteers are provided with safety vests, litter bags and safety training.

You can use our interactive map to pick your ideal spot. Valentine, Ariz. is located off State Route 66 northeast of Kingman while Love, Ariz. is located on US 60 northeast of Salome. While the Adopt a Highway program has more than 800 groups cleaning state highways, there are still miles available near these two romantically-named towns. Mileposts 70-86 are available near Valentine on SR 66. Closer to Love, mileposts 66-98 are available on US 60.

A few weeks ago, we reported on ways to serve on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and beyond. We mentioned an Adopt a Highway volunteer group in southern Arizona planning a one-day pickup coined “All the Way to the Border.”

Melissa Owen has been volunteering and organizing litter cleanups for more than 20 years, with more than a decade of commitment to ADOT's Adopt a Highway volunteer program.

Owen's dream was someday to have all 45 miles running through Altar Valley on State Route 286 between Robles Junction/Three Points and Sasabe at the Mexico border be litter-free. That's why she started the "All the Way to the Border" cleanup event in 2015. But she never expected that 2020 would be the year volunteer participation nearly doubled enough to make that dream come true.

But it happened.

“It was a big day – we went all the way to the border in 2020!” Owen reported. At the end of the day, 250 bags of trash were collected by 121 volunteers along SR 286, which runs through a good portion of the scenic Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. That compares with the 70 volunteers who collected 210 bags of trash along 31 miles of highway during last year's event.

For those who couldn't make it, you can scroll through this slideshow of the volunteers in action.

Owen’s commitment takes time and persistence. She gets the word out by planning several months ahead and sending invitations, and then following up with reminders every few weeks. Just as in past events, friends and travelers from outside Arizona, as far away as Texas and Michigan, showed up to lend a hand. Even a bit of fun was added to volunteer duties during the morning safety briefing. Owen tasked participants to send in photo entries for a "weirdest piece of trash" contest.

The winners this year were a tie between the majority of a toilet and this faux-leather jacket so coated in mud that it weighed in at nearly 50 pounds. Honorable mention as the most beautiful piece of trash goes to a collection of animal bones found during the cleanup.  

Some of this year’s volunteers and supporters included Trico Electric Cooperative, Tucson Recycling and Waste Service, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, the Robles Ranch Community Center, Park Smith Law, Altar Valley Conservation Alliance, Altar Valley Middle School and the Tucson Station Border Patrol Explorers.

Owen’s dream started out small by first adopting mile 5 near Sasabe, Arizona. And, by the way, mile 6 is currently available.  If you’re interested in taking that first step and adopting your own, check out the Adopt a Highway Volunteer program at azdot.gov/adoptahighway or contact me at [email protected]

While many enjoy a day off of work on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, some celebrate the day by volunteering. MLK Day of Service is the only national holiday where Americans are encouraged to work to improve their communities.

If you’re looking for a way to improve your community, consider the Adopt a Highway program. We have hundreds of groups that volunteer to clean up a mile of highway all across the state. Volunteer groups range from families to businesses to religious and civic groups. If you choose to adopt, you’ll even get sign marking your mile.

For those who aren’t ready to commit to adopting a mile, you can join a one-day pickup with the “All the way to the Border” group on Jan. 25. Each year a large group of volunteers performs a massive one-day cleanup along a 45-mile stretch of State Route 286 in southern Arizona. Best of all, they welcome anyone who wants to volunteer. Each year the group has more volunteers than the last. The 2019 pickup included 70 volunteers! The ADOT Blog documented last year’s pickup that included volunteers from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Explorers program. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the Adopt a Highway Volunteer program visit azdot.gov/adoptahighway. If you’d like to participate in the Jan. 25 cleanup along SR 286 between Robles Junction/Three Points and the Mexico border, contact ADOT Adopt a Highway manager Mary Currie at [email protected].

It’s the time of year we start looking back at the past year and making plans for the new year. For some, that’s a commitment to lose weight, spend more time with family or make other life changes.

Many of you will decide to recommit to causes important to you or look for new volunteer opportunities. If improving your community and the environment or the beauty of our state is important to you, you might consider adopting a highway.

Last year, nearly 10,000 Adopt a Highway volunteers picked up more than 13,000 bags of trash along 1,700 miles of state highway. Volunteers just want to make sure our state looks its best, whether honoring someone special or spending time with friends and family on a group cleanup.

The Adopt a Highway website makes it easy to get information about the program. You can even go online to pick out a highway segment near your home or one with special meaning. If you’re still on the fence about adopting, we also share stories about volunteer groups and their experiences.

We hope to see you out on your mile of highway in 2020!