You won't believe how many bags of trash ODOT has picked up along highways this year

Canton Repository
·2 min read
Beloit Ruritans, along with some residents and volunteers from the Smith Township Police Department, conducted its annual Adopt-a-Highway litter cleanup on April 20 on a three-mile stretch of state Route 165.
Beloit Ruritans, along with some residents and volunteers from the Smith Township Police Department, conducted its annual Adopt-a-Highway litter cleanup on April 20 on a three-mile stretch of state Route 165.

Ohio is filled with litterbugs.

The Ohio Department of Transportation says it has picked up more than 89,000 bags of trash left along state routes and U.S. highways so far this year. The agency also reported spending a whopping $10 million a year collecting litter.

“Our highway crews are out on litter patrol all year, even through the winter when conditions allow. But come spring, litter reveals itself even more, especially as vehicle travel increases and people begin spring cleanup,” ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks said in a prepared statement.

“Please do your part and keep your trash contained wherever you work, drive, or enjoy the outdoors,” he added.

ODOT collects trash along state and U.S. routes outside municipalities and all interstates, except the Ohio Turnpike.

Ohio has 1,400 Adopt-A-Highway groups that help pick up litter.

“We love doing the highway pickup," said Diane Bovee with First Universalist Church in Lyons, which organized a litter pickup along state Route 120 in Fulton County last weekend. "We’re among the oldest Adopt-A-Highway groups in Ohio. We have done it for close to 30 years. We’re not a small church, we’re a tiny church. We just think it’s the right thing to do.”

Since January, Adopt-A-Highway groups in Ohio have collected nearly 200 bags of trash, ODOT said.

In addition to ODOT forces and Adopt-A-Highway groups, litter collection is done along state highways by the following:

  • Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections: ODOT works with 11 institutions on litter pickup along state highways. Since January, crews collected over 24,000 bags of trash.

  • Interstate Business Solutions (IBS): ODOT contracts with IBS to clean up litter in the state’s metropolitan areas (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Canton and Youngstown). Since January, the IBS team has collected over 31,343 bags of trash.

  • Center for Employment Opportunities: ODOT contracts with CEO to pick up along roadsides, and to clean encampment areas of unhoused individuals. Since January, the CEO team has collected nearly 25,000 bags of trash.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: ODOT spends $10 million a year collecting trash along highways