Litter Fight Extends to 100-Series Highway Interchanges

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Litter Fight Extends to 100-Series Highway Interchanges

Members of Adopt-A-Highway and the Department of Transportation and Public Works are taking their fight against litter to highway interchanges.

For the first time, Adopt-A-Highway volunteers will be allowed onto the interchanges of 100-series highways as part of a three- year pilot project. Currently, volunteers clean secondary roads and highways with department help.

"This pilot project will benefit the environment while taking steps to protect the safety of motorists and volunteers," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "This is a positive step forward in the fight against roadside litter."

"I am quite excited about the extension of the Adopt-A-Highway program to include the 100-series interchanges," said Gaynol Keith, Adopt-A-Highway co-ordinator. "Adopt-A-Highway volunteers understand how important it is to keep our highways litter-free, not only for our environment and health, but also to beautify our scenic highways."

At the end of three years, department staff will review the project and determine if Adopt-A-Highway volunteers should be allowed onto the entire 100-series road network.

To ensure the safety of volunteers and motorists along 100-series highways, the department has introduced stricter guidelines for the removal of litter around interchanges, such as minimum age requirements and a no-parking requirement on highway shoulders.

Since the Adopt-A-Highway program began in Nova Scotia in 1992, more than 150 volunteer groups have adopted more than 750 kilometres of roadway along secondary highways and roads. Annually, volunteers collect more than 6,000 bags of litter.

Department staff help by removing bagged garbage and other material, as well as providing safety vests, garbage bags and flagging tape. Staff also arrange for the removal of animal carcasses and hazardous goods that are flagged. The department recognizes individual groups by placing Adopt-A-Highway signs on the roadway.

Adopt-A-Highway is an internationally renowned roadside litter cleanup program. It protects and preserves the environmental health of the landscape and creates scenic routes for motorists.

In Nova Scotia, it's supported by the Women's Institutes of Nova Scotia, the departments of Transportation and Public Works, Tourism and Culture, and Environment and Labour, as well as the Resource Recovery Fund Board, the Lions Clubs of Nova Scotia and Clean Nova Scotia.

More information about the Adopt-A-Highway Program is available by calling Gaynol Keith at 902-893-6520 or by e-mail to [email protected] . There is also more information on the Women's Institutes page on the government Web site, at www.gov.ns.ca/nsaf/wi/projects/adopt.htm .

Visitors can also watch a video of a recent Adopt-A-Highway cleanup on the Department of Transportation and Public Works Web site, at www.gov.ns.ca/tran/otherinformation/AdoptAHwy.stm .