Final Adopt-A-Highway cleanup of the year starts Saturday

Fast facts:

• The final Adopt-A-Highway of the year is Sept. 20-28.
• Adopt-A-Highway volunteers collected more than 36,000 bags of trash last year.
• Sections of highway are still available to adopt. Go to https://www.Michigan.gov/AdoptAHighway for more information.

LANSING, Mich. ­- As sure as the leaves start to turn and fall, thousands of Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Adopt-A-Highway volunteers will fan out across the state to collect litter from Saturday, Sept. 20, through Sunday, Sept. 28.

This is the third and final scheduled pickup period of the year.

The popular Adopt-A-Highway program began in Michigan in 1990. Today, 35 years later, around 2,600 groups have adopted more than 6,000 miles of state highway. Last year alone, these volunteers collected more than 36,000 bags of trash.

Motorists should be on the lookout for the groups as they clean the roadsides beginning Saturday. Safety is a top priority for the program. When working in a highway right of way, volunteers wear high-visibility, yellow-green safety vests required by federal regulations. MDOT provides free vests and trash bags and arranges to haul away the trash.

Adopting a highway is straightforward. Volunteers include members of civic groups, businesses and families. Crew members must be at least 12 years old, and each group must include at least three people. Groups are asked to adopt a section of highway for at least two years. There is no fee to participate. Adopt-A-Highway signs bearing group names are posted along the stretches of adopted highway.

Sections of highway are available for adoption all over the state. Interested groups can get more information on joining the program at https://www.Michigan.gov/AdoptAHighway.