The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and its maintenance contractors picked up 118,578 bags of trash along freeways in Maricopa County last year. This translates to approximately 811 tons, which continues an upward trend in the amount of litter accumulation along Valley freeways since 2017.
An ADOT worker cleans up trash strewn along the mini-stack (photo courtesy of ADOT).
ADOT says that during the past five years, litter has steadily increased along state freeways in Maricopa County. In 2017, ADOT picked up 80,442 bags of litter compared to the nearly 119,000 bags last year — a 47 percent increase.
Maintenance crews are able to clean about 250 miles along the freeway system once a week thanks to funding from the Maricopa Association of Governments. Nevertheless, the amount of litter and trash increases along Valley freeways year after year.
“Drivers can help out by simply not littering,” said Mary Currie, who manages ADOT’s Adopt a Highway programs. “Don’t toss that burger wrapper, paper cup or cigarette butt out of the window. All of those seemingly small and insignificant items build up over time creating safety issues.”
Some of those safety issues include blockages of stormwater drainage grates, sometimes preventing water from flowing freely to retention basins, drainage channels or pump stations. That can cause standing water to build in low lying locations along freeways. Over time, litter also can negatively impact the operation of pumps that remove storm runoff along some freeways.
It’s also important to secure your load before traveling. ADOT’s Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm, whose job is to patrol Valley freeways to provide vital services including removing litter and debris blocking the road, responds to an average of 26 calls per week for debris blocking the highway. In fact, one-third of all the calls the IRU receives are for litter blocking the road.
The Maricopa Association of Governments works to keep roadways clean through its Don’t Trash Arizona campaign. Those who litter along Arizona highways can face fines up to $500.
For more information, visit www.azdot.gov.
