RICHMOND — About once a week for 15 years, James Downing has been cleaning trash from a stretch of road in Prince George County. Dirty diapers. Alcohol bottles. Cigarette butts. You name it, he says he’s picked it up.

“It devalues the whole community,” Downing said. “There’s no point in it, when there are so many places these days you can get rid of your simple trash in your vehicle. It boggles my mind why you would throw something out of your window.”

Downing is just one of thousands of volunteers for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Adopt-a-Highway program, which empowers people to take charge of cleaning a section of a public roadway. As you drive along Virginia’s highways, take a moment to appreciate the hard work volunteers contribute to maintain the commonwealth’s natural beauty and consider joining the movement by adopting a section of roadway.

The Adopt-a-Highway program started in Virginia in 1988, and together, participants have removed nearly 1 million bags of trash from roadsides. But the program is not just about picking up litter, it’s about the collective spirit of stewardship around keeping the roadways clean while fostering a culture of environmental responsibility and community engagement.

“I find it terribly disgusting that people are out here littering like this,” said volunteer Kordelia Coyne, who adopted part of a roadway near her home. “It’s sad to watch because it flows right into our ecosystems. The trash they throw goes into the ditches and then washes down into the creeks here. That’s really gross to think our animals are drinking out of that, children are playing in that.”

The program has more than 3,500 adopted locations, with volunteers representing schools, businesses, civic organizations and families picking up trash from more than 8,000 miles of roadway each year. Together, they make a valuable contribution that produces cleaner roadsides, reduces maintenance costs funded by taxpayers and raises awareness about the litter problem.

“I feel like I do have some impact,” said Wendy Teeter, who has been an Adopt-a-Highway volunteer for about 20 years.” Even if the next day there’s some trash and litter again, you feel you’ve made some impact. If you can do something, do it.”

HOW TO ADOPT A ROADWAY

Help keep Virginia beautiful and litter free by considering participating in the Adopt-a-Highway program. Volunteers must commit to cleaning a two-mile stretch of VDOT-maintained roadway twice a year. VDOT supplies volunteers with trash bags, safety equipment and training. After two reported litter pickups, if requested, VDOT will install a blue sign along the road recognizing the group.

Learn more about the Adopt-a-Highway program, including a map of what roadways are available for adoption, on VDOT’s webpage.

In addition to providing details to VDOT through the Adopt-a-Highway program, people can compete for prizes and earn recognition by reporting their litter pickups on the Keep Virginia Beautiful app.

Watch videos spotlighting VDOT’s Adopt-a-Highway volunteers on the agency’s YouTube page.