Adopt-A-Highway Fall Cleanup Scheduled For Sept. 24

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is accepting registrations for the Adopt-A-Highway Fall Statewide Cleanup, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016.

Co-sponsored by the WVDEP, the West Virginia Division of Highways, and the Governor’s Day To Serve Program, the Adopt-A-Highway program is administered by the DEP’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP). Its goals include improving the quality of the state’s environment by encouraging public involvement in the elimination of highway litter.

Individuals, families, churches, businesses, schools, civic organizations, government agencies, and communities can register to pick up trash on almost any state-maintained road, back road, or main route. Private roads and interstate highways cannot be adopted. Volunteers must be at least 12 years old to participate. Groups can also register one-time cleanups. Adopt-A-Highway cleanup events can also be counted as Community Service hours.

The Adopt-A-Highway program provides garbage bags, work gloves, and safety vests to volunteers. The state also handles disposal of collected trash.

More than 4,800 volunteers turned out for the spring 2016 Adopt-A-Highway spring cleanup and cleared over 1,500 miles of West Virginia roadways. Since the program’s inception in 1988, state citizens have cleaned up nearly 70,000 miles of state highways and roads during annual spring and fall Adopt-A-Highway events. 

To register, call 1-800-322-5530 or send an email to dep.aah@wv.gov. If you reach the REAP voicemail, please leave your name, phone number, group name, date of cleanup, number of participants, and the county where your adopted road is located. In addition, if you are not a registered group and are looking to sponsor a one-time clean up please leave your name and contact information.

For more DEP news and information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, be sure to connect with the agency on all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter and find us on YouTube by searching “Environment Matters.” For specific information about our REAP (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan), West Virginia Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), West Virginia Watershed Improvement Branch, Youth Environmental Program and Human Resources initiatives, connect on Facebook.