Louisiana Gets Extra $3M in State Funds for Litter Cleanup

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development recently received an additional $3 million from the state legislature to fund expanded litter pickup and removal efforts along major federal highways statewide.

[Above photo by Louisiana DOTD]

This initiative aims to enhance the cleanliness and visual appeal of critical transportation routes across the state, including I-10, I-12, I-20, I-110 and I-610, the agency said in a statement. In addition to litter removal, residents along those highways can expect early grass cutting services to occur as well via an existing state contract.

In fiscal year 2024, the Louisiana DOTD said it committed approximately $13.6 million to litter pickup, reinforcing the state’s dedication to maintaining clean and safe roadways.

This financial investment also raises “important questions” about resource allocation, the agency stressed, as funds spent on litter removal could be directed toward critical areas such as road improvements, maintenance and transportation enhancements if trash was not left along the highway.

State departments of transportation across the country are engaged in a variety of litter removal efforts.

Photo by Tennessee DOT

For example, the fourth annual “No Trash November” cleanup event spearheaded by the Tennessee Department of Transportation removed nearly 70,000 pounds of litter from state roadways and waterways in 2024.

Part of the agency’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee campaign, the yearly “No Trash November” effort brings together Keep Tennessee Beautiful affiliates, Tennessee DOT grantees, Adopt-A-Highway groups, youth groups, water groups, and individuals who all work together to clean up trash as part of that state initiative.

All told, 2,412 volunteers participated in 175 “No Trash November” cleanups in 2024, collecting 3,207 bags of litter, weighing 69,776 pounds.

Meanwhile, three New Mexican state agencies – the New Mexico Department of Transportation, New Mexico Department of Tourism, and New Mexico Department of the Environment – awarded a total of $4.7 million in grants to 97 local entities to support litter removal and community cleanup projects as part of a new state beautification campaign launched in November 2024.

New Mexico’s new “Breaking Bad Habits” campaign seeks to encourage state residents to preserve New Mexico’s “unparalleled landscape” by removing litter, preventing illegal dumping, and other related efforts.

And in May 2024, the Utah Department of Transportation launched a new volunteer litter removal program called “Keeping Utah Beautiful” – a program designed to make it easy for members of the public to go online and sign up for a one-time cleanup of state roads.

The agency said these volunteer cleanups will supplement the work of Utah DOT crews who regularly pick up litter statewide. To ensure volunteer safety, “Keeping Utah Beautiful” participants will not clean interstates or some state routes, the Utah DOT stressed – and requires that program volunteers be a minimum 14 years of age.

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