ADOT Litter Hotline, Website Abuzz With 60% More Cleanup Requests

ARIZONA – Is the glass half empty or half full? It all depends on whom you ask at the Arizona Department of Transportation, which reported a 60 percent increase in highway litter cleanup requests in 2019 compared with the same timeframe in 2018.

Earlier this year, ADOT’s Litter.AZ.gov litter reporting website and the department’s 511 Arizona Traveler Information line, which can now be used to report roadside littering, opened the way for more Arizona highway littering complaints. ADOT’s recent reporting indicated 1,405 reports of littering were received in April through September 2019, whereas during the same time period last year, ADOT received 839 littering reports, about a 60 percent rise.

ADOT’s Adopt a Highway program manager Mary Currie sees the increased littering report glass as half full. “State highways make an important first impression on those visiting this beautiful state that is home to the Grand Canyon, one of the natural wonders of the world. This dramatic increase in litter reports is a strong sign that Arizonans want to help Keep Arizona Grand,” she said.

To help reduce Arizona’s highway littering, once a Litter Hotline report is received to include the vehicle’s make and license plate number, the vehicle’s registered owner gets a letter from ADOT reminding them that those who litter can be fined $500, and that littering is unsightly, illegal and expensive to clean up. A small litter bag for the vehicle is included in the letter.

More than $4 million is spent annually by ADOT to clear away litter along state highways. That’s where the department’s 10,000 Adopt a Highway volunteers come in. In 2018, volunteers removed about 13,000 bags of trash – which was tons, ADOT reported – from 1,700 state highways. The volunteers’ work saved ADOT about $500,000 in litter-clearing expense, so that money can now be used elsewhere.