The existing program focused on county roads, primarily those leading to the trash Transfer Station along County Road 25A between Troy and Piqua. It, too, was put on hold due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements that made transport of program participants in a van impossible, said Tony Blakley, court administrator for Municipal Court.
The local roads program was supported by a $15,000 grant from the county Sanitary Engineering Department’s Solid Waste District, which runs the county recycling effort.
The community service program continued during COVID with participants assigned to assisting with additional facilities cleaning and working with local nonprofits.
The county commissioners last week voted to move forward with expanding the litter program to I-75. They authorized an application for the Adopt-A-Highway program and program conditions with the Ohio Department of Transportation.
ODOT’s role is to provide bags and signs for the program, and take bags of collected litter to the transfer station. The program initially was approved for two years.
The sheriff’s department will provide a deputy to go with the cleanup teams for safety. The grants will pay for litter disposal fees and fuel charges.
“The roadside litter collection operation has been and continues to be very popular in the county,” Blakley said. “In addition to holding the offenders accountable through this punitive measure, the offenders, in turn, give back to the county where the crimes were committed. We are very excited to once again, provide this service to our community.”
The I-75 cleanup will be done on Sundays until both north and southbound rights-of-way are cleaned, Blakley said.
“We are going to take our time and do it right,” he said. The current litter along the interstate is “an eye sore. Once you see it, you can’t un-see it,” he said.
Commission President Ted Mercer has been an advocate for the litter cleanup program. He thanked on behalf of commissioners the partners including ODOT, sheriff’s office, the court and the solid waste district.
“This team working together will start the process of cleaning up our county roads including Interstate 75. Working together through this partnership will keep Miami County roadways clean,” he said.
Participation in the project is limited to those doing community service. However, anyone interested in assisting with an Adopt-A-Highway program can visit the ODOT website for more information, Blakley said.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
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