As the unseasonably warm temperatures continue, the Missouri Department of Transportation is looking for help removing litter from the state’s roadways.

Natalie Roark, state highway maintenance director says, “We’ve completed the last of our mowing for 2021 and this has the unfortunate effect of making litter more visible along Missouri roads. While the weather continues to cooperate, we’re hoping to encourage people to help out by cleaning their section of adopted roadway-before the winter snows set in.”

According to a news release, in 2020, MoDOT spent $6.4 million to remove litter from more than 385,000 acres of roadsides along 34,000 state highway miles. In addition to volunteers and staff, MoDOT employs incarcerated crews throughout the state.

Officials say the best way to prevent litter on Missouri roads is to not create it in the first place.

Roark says, “It all starts with you. Remember, if you don’t throw it out, we don’t have to pick it up. Every effort by the public to eliminate or clean up litter helps offset our trash removal costs and allows the department to put more money back into maintaining Missouri’s roads and bridges.”

Here are some ways you can help:

• Don’t litter. Keep a bag for trash in your car or truck and wait to dispose of it properly
• Secure the load. Make sure nothing blows out or off of your vehicle into the roadway. In addition to creating litter, unsecured loads can be a safety hazard to the vehicles behind you.

For more information about how to join the Missouri Adopt-A-Highway program, go to MoDOT.org/adopt-highway.

MoDOT says, “All it costs you is your time. MoDOT provides the signs, safety materials, trash bags and disposal.”