The following is a guest post by Collin Jones, Legislative Director, California Department of Transportation District 5.
Caltrans District 5 was very pleased to participate in the recent news conference in San Luis Obispo to promote recycling and encourage the public not to litter when taking to the highway. Our partnership with Keep California Beautiful and the American Chemistry Council made it a great event.
Placing recycling containers at various rest areas is an important step in reducing litter that ends up on roadways and in landfills.
Caltrans takes pride in these multi-agency partnerships while continuing our own effort to prevent litter on the state highway system. The Caltrans Adopt-A-Highway Program provides an avenue for individuals, organizations and businesses to help maintain sections of roadside in California. Groups have the option to participate as volunteers or to hire a maintenance service provider to perform the work on their behalf. The Adopt-A-Highway Program, which began in 1989, has involved more than 120,000 Californians who have cleaned and enhanced more than 15,000 shoulder-miles of highway roadside.
Caltrans maintenance workers have the task of making sure that our state highways are free from litter. The Caltrans Division of Maintenance has spent about $50 million on litter removal. Our highway workers on a daily basis see the effects of litter, roads covered in cigarette butts, fast food wrappers, soda and coffee cups. Many of these items are harmful to our waterways such as lakes, rivers and beaches.
Caltrans is also very proud of its Don’t Trash California Campaign which uses a comprehensive, multicultural approach to target primary offenders of highway littering, as well as the general public to create a social mindset that California does not tolerate polluting of our freeways and highways. This campaign includes proven strategies, including media advocacy, special events, partnerships, paid media and community outreach to raise the level of awareness of the effects of littering and encourage the public to avoid littering.
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Tags: Adopt-A-Highway, California Recycling, CalTrans, Collin Jones, Don't Trash California, Keep California Beautiful, litter, on-the-go recycling, Reducing Waste