The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is now accepting registrations for the Adopt-A-Highway Spring Statewide Cleanup set for Saturday, April 27. Volunteers have until April 19 to register.

Co-sponsored by the WVDEP and the state Division of Highways, the Adopt-A-Highway program is administered by the WVDEP’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP), and improves the quality of the state’s environment by encouraging public involvement in the elimination of highway litter.

Individuals, families, churches, businesses, schools, civic organizations, government agencies and communities can register to pick up trash on almost any state-maintained road, back road or main route. Private roads and interstate highways cannot be adopted.

The Adopt-A-Highway program provides garbage bags, work gloves and safety vests to volunteers, and takes care of disposing of collected trash. Volunteers must be at least 12 years old to participate. The Adopt-A-Spot program is designed for children younger than 12 to participate.

More than 4,000 volunteers turned out for the 2018 Adopt-A-Highway spring cleanup and cleared over 1,500 miles of West Virginia roadways. Since the program’s inception in 1988, state citizens have cleaned up close to 70,000 miles of state highways and roads during annual spring and fall Adopt-A-Highway events.

To register, call 1-800-322-5530 or send an email to: dep.aah@wv.gov. If you reach the REAP voicemail, please leave your ID, phone number, group name, date of cleanup, number of participants and the county where your adopted road is located.