COLUMBUS (March
26, 2008) – Hoping to prevent a $4 million problem marring Ohio’s
highway system, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) kicked
off its annual spring litter cleanup this week by enlisting the help
of an army of volunteers to prevent litter Clear Across Ohio.
Governor Ted Strickland proclaimed April as “Keep Ohio Beautiful
Month.” In celebration, ODOT has partnered with Keep Ohio Beautiful on
the Great American Cleanup. The official statewide kick off event --
originally scheduled for Saturday, March 29, at the Erie Street Market in Toledo
-- has been postponed due to weather until April 19. More
details will be available at a later date.
Statewide, ODOT’s highway crews collected nearly 10 million pounds of
trash in 2007 at a cost of $4 million in labor and equipment expenses.
That’s more than 500,000 bags of litter and debris taken off the roads
and grassy medians along our state highway system.
“By embracing environmental stewardship, we can all prevent litter
Clear Across Ohio,” said ODOT Director James Beasley. “To give you
some perspective, the $4 million spent last year to pick up highway
litter could have instead been used to pave a new 40 mile two-lane
road.”
The Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest annual community
improvement program. Cleanup activities are expected to involve as
many as 2.5 million people volunteering more than 8 million hours to
clean, beautify and improve 15,000 communities during events in all 50
states.
Ohio also has over 1,400 groups - with at least one group in each
county - who have joined ODOT’s Adopt-a-Highway program. Volunteer
groups adopt a two mile section or an interchange along the state
highway system, picking up litter and debris a minimum of four times
each year.
If your
group is interested in adopting a highway, please visit:
ODOT's Adopt-A-Highway Page
