TxDOT Highlights ‘Trash Off’ Highway Cleanup Effort

In April, the Texas Department of Transportation hosted its annual “Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off” event; a core part of the agency’s Adopt-A-Highway program, which gives volunteer groups a chance to take charge of cleaning stretches of state highways a few times a year.

[Above photo by TxDOT]

Catherine Cromer, TxDOT’s statewide coordinator for the agency’s Adopt-A-Highway program, said in a statement that cleanup volunteers across Texas made a real difference in fiscal year 2025: conducting 375 cleanup events that involved 2,850 people clearing 750 miles of roads and picked up nearly 76,000 pounds of litter statewide.

TxDOT said it counts on partnerships with civic organizations, community groups, and dedicated volunteers working through its Adopt a Highway program to help make roads cleaner and safer; protect natural resources; and build community pride.

The agency highlighted the cleanup effort of more than 30 members of the Denton–Lewisville Kappa Alpha PsiAlumni Chapter, who pitched in to clean up a state-maintained road in April as part of its yearly “Trash Off” event.

Kirk Nobles, chapter treasurer, noted that events like this strengthen community bonds and offer a way to give back.

“We have a very active and supportive chapter,” he said. “Activities like this are a chance for brothers to bond while giving back to the community.”

Many state departments of transportation conduct similar yearly roadway cleanup events as well as provide support to ongoing litter-removal efforts.

In May, in honor of Earth Day, employees and maintenance crews with the Washington State Department of Transportation spent a week picking up trash along highways across Clark County, the southernmost county in Washington State.

In March, the Arkansas Department of Transportation launched a new website for the Adopt-A-Highway program. The new website, now live on the ardot.gov main menu, is designed to make it easier for state residents to get involved in keeping Arkansas roadways and rights-of-way clean and beautiful.

The agency said the new website allows the public to view current Adopt-A-Highway volunteer locations across the state, identify opportunities to participate, and submit requests to adopt specific highway segments for cleanup efforts.

And in December 2025, the Tennessee Department of Tennessee noted that more than 77,000 pounds of litter were removed from roadsides and waterways statewide as part of its 5th Annual “No Trash November” month-long campaign in November 2025.

Throughout that month, 2,470 volunteers participated in 205 cleanup events, the agency said in a statement – collecting 3,596 bags of litter weighing a total of 77,129 pounds.