The month of April marks Missouri’s annual No MOre Trash! Bash coordinated by the Missouri Department of Transportation. During the annual statewide anti-litter event, volunteers are encouraged to clean up litter adjacent to highways to help beautify Missouri.
The No MOre Trash! Bash is an annual outreach of MoDOT’s year-round litter control efforts. It has been hosted every spring since 2004 except for 2020 when COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the event out of safety concerns. Additional COVID-19 restrictions limited the use of nearly 240 work release prisoners and required social distancing for field operations engaged in litter control performed by MoDOT staff. These factors have contributed to a marked increase in trash along Missouri’s highways.
Last year, MoDOT spent $6.4 million to remove litter from more than 385,000 acres of roadsides along 34,000 state highway miles. The annual volunteer efforts to pick up litter along Missouri highways — including the Adopt-A-Highway program — have been valued at more than $1 million.
Groups are encouraged to exercise special COVID-19 safety precautions. To learn more, visit www.modot.org/adopt-highway or call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636).
