(AREA) — Highway roadsides across lower Michigan get their first cleanup of the year beginning Saturday, April 16. Volunteers in the MDOT Adopt-A-Highway program will pick up litter from April 16-24. Volunteers pick up litter three times each year. Statewide, there will be a summer pickup from July 16-24 and a fall pickup from Sept. 24-Oct. 2. Dedicated Adopt-A-Highway volunteers collect about 70,000 bags of trash annually, an estimated $5 million value for the state. 382 groups have been in the program for 25-years or more and of the 2,925 groups currently in the program, 751 have been participating for at least 20-years. 6,400 miles of highway are currently adopted by various civic groups, businesses, and families. Sections of highway are still available for adoption. Groups are asked to adopt a section for at least two years. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/adoptahighway
