Adopt A Highway - Trash Off Day on April 2, 2011

Residents of Eagle Landing subdivision are concerned about the amount of trash littered along our highways. Besides being unsightly, and sometimes a driving hazard when winds blow, the trash adds to the fuel load should a fire occur. It also harms the environment, animals and birds. Pete Schroeder, Avinger Volunteer Fire Department, and his wife Lynn, are Eagle Landing residents, and shining examples of practicing what they preach, by picking up road litter daily during their  “Trashersize” walks. Together, they have championed the effort for residents of Eagle Landing to join them in making a positive impact toward reducing this problem.

Pete contacted the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) Atlanta office, and requested that Eagle Landing become a member of the Adopt A Highway Program. After a community meeting it was learned that TXDOT would supply permanent signs, vests, traffic control flags, and trash bags if residents would agree to pick up highway trash for a two mile stretch on both sides of the highway, at least four times a year. Eagle Landing residents previously decided they would “adopt” the stretch on highway 155N from highway 161 towards Avinger. The event was scheduled to coincide with Texas “Trash Off” Day, on Saturday, April 2, 2011.

Adopt A Highway was originally started in Tyler, Texas, in 1985. Since then the program has spread across Texas, and celebrities such as George Strait, and Willie Nelsen have lent their time and images to assist the movement. Texans throw out over 827 million pieces of trash on Texas roadways annually. In 2010, discarded litter amounted to 800 million pounds of debris. Leading causes of the litter are cigarette butts, soda cans, and alcohol containers. In 2010 there were 74,100 Texas volunteer organizations such as Eagle Landing Homeowners Association, who busily cleaned 6,219 miles of Texas highways. They underscored the message, “Don’t Mess With Texas!”.

The litter problem is compounded by the longevity of the litter in the environment. For example, cigarette butts last 1-5 years; Aluminum cans, 80-100 years; Plastic bags, 10-20 years; glass bottles, 1 million years; tin cans, 50 years; wool socks, 1-5 years; and plastic bottles last indefinitely. Additionally, one piece of litter can become hundreds once a mower hits it.

For 1 ½ hours over forty residents combed the roadsides collecting a total of 42 bags of trash.

“It was fun, and wonderful to know we didn’t add to the problem, but instead were part of the solution”, said one volunteer. When asked what were the most unusual items collected, the group enjoyed a laugh when someone said, “ A package of male “enhancements!”.

If you or your group want to become part of the solution in your area, contact Barbara Wyatt with TXDOT, 903-645-2519, at Barbara.Wyatt@txdot.gov. The Atlanta TXDOT office serves the counties of Morris, Camp, Cass, and parts of Upshur, Marion, and Titus.