August 13, 2008
CDOT’s Litter Removal Programs Work To Clean Up Colorado
DENVER — Litter on state highways continues to be a growing problem, which is why the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has several programs to help keep Colorado clean. Each year, thousands of cubic yards of litter are removed from Colorado highways by CDOT maintenance crews, Adopt-A-Highway Volunteers and the Sponsor-A-Highway program.
In fiscal year 2008 (July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008), the three groups combined removed over 116,000 cubic yards of trash, enough to fill 23,303 single-axle dump trucks. The majority of the litter removal was done by CDOT maintenance crews who removed over 65,600 cubic yards of trash statewide.
“Despite the fact that our maintenance crews conduct much of the litter removal, we are seeing an increase in activity from the Sponsor-A-Highway program, which removed nearly 30% of the litter last year,” said CDOT Executive Director Russ George. “This is a great sign as it is becoming increasingly difficult for our maintenance crews to keep up with all of the state’s highway needs.”
The Sponsor-A-Highway program, which began in July 2004, has become more successful each year. Currently, 90 of the 383 total miles available in the program have been adopted by 26 corporations, many of which sponsor multiple segments.
The program entails Front Range highways including I-25, I-70, I-225, US 36, C-470, US 85, US 285 US 6 and State Highway 2. Each corporation adopts one or two mile segments, which are cleaned frequently. On the majority of the highways, the contractor picks up litter once a month. On highways with average daily traffic totaling more than 100,000 vehicles, or on routes that have been identified as having significant litter problems, bi-weekly or weekly cleanings are required.
CDOT contracts with Adopt-A-Highway Litter Removal Service of America, Inc. to manage Colorado’s Sponsor-A-Highway program at no cost to the state. A corporate sponsor’s financial contribution for litter removal on a segment of highway is recognized by a sign. In turn, CDOT’s litter removal contractor cleans that sponsored segment of highway.
Sponsorship fees range from $275 to $400 a month with a one-time sign fee of $800.00. Corporations interested in becoming a sponsor should contact Karrie Jones at 800.530.7168.
Since the Sponsor-A-Highway program began in July 2004, over 40,000 bags of trash have been removed from highways along the Front Range. This year alone, 13,569 bags or 33,923 cubic yards of trash were removed, saving CDOT approximately $1.3 million.
For those outside of a corporation, there are still opportunities to help keep Colorado’s highways free of litter through the Adopt-A-Highway program. This is a program that relies strictly on volunteer groups throughout Colorado. Currently, over 3,000 miles of highway have been adopted across the state, leaving 4,845 miles available for volunteer groups.
“The Adopt-A-Highway program is a great way for local groups to give back to their communities and help the environment,” added George. “All of the volunteers are essential in CDOT’s litter removal program and we strongly encourage volunteer groups to take part in this positive program designed to preserve the beauty of our state.”
Statewide, there are over 1,700 volunteer groups that pick up trash two to four times a year on their adopted segment. The dedication of the many volunteers has resulted in the removal of 4,755 cubic yards of trash in FY 2008. In the Denver metro area, there are 98 volunteer groups who have adopted 155 of 239 miles of highway and removed 223 cubic yards of trash. For those interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact your local Adopt-A-Highway Coordinator at (303) 757-9629.
For more information on the Adopt-A-Highway or the Sponsor-A-Highway programs visit http://www.dot.state.co.us/AdoptAHighway/.
###