# Need to know: does your country have volunteer litter pick up events? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2013, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026 "2013-08-12T08:22:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/21 "2013-08-12T18:32:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve never heard of pay - counties and cities have their own road crews to clean also. The volunteer work saves some money, and the volunteers probably do a better job just from having more hands. Did your group do it just one year, or several years in a row? ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/22 "2013-08-12T19:12:28Z")
> [@11811](#): > > In the US, clean-up events seem to happen mostly on MLK Day, when people volunteer in their community or another community. Really? Mid-January? I find it hard to believe that’s the most common time for such events in most of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/23 "2013-08-12T19:33:21Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Did your group do it just one year, or several years in a row? Many years in a row, and I think twice a year. You had to apply to the state or the county for your spot. As we got seniority we got to move to the stretch of road that ran by our lab so we could see the benefit. I think I did it over four years, and I think it went on before I started and after I left. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/24 "2013-08-12T19:36:06Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Interesting. Google led me to about 200 local Adopt-a-Road programs. Most say they have serveral hundred miles of road adopted out, and people clean it every other month. I’m surprised they find volunteers that way. So for some people, the good work and maybe the sign is enough of an incentive. But from what I know of psychology, I suspect that for other groups, more of an finacial incentive is needed. And then it becomes important that organizers don’t pay some groups and not others, otherwise the non-paid groups might feel unfairly treated. And that entails price-talks between counties/states. I wonder if I could find some overal report on how that system functions. Most of the organizations participating in Adopt-A-Road or Adopt-a-Highway programs are already dedicated to doing a certain amount of charitable labor: boy scout troops, college fraternities, mason lodges, etc. So these people are already in the mood for volunteerism; people who don’t want to clean up burger wrappers and crack pipes wouldn’t sign up for those organizations in the first place. New York has a fairly large [highway adoption](https://www.dot.ny.gov/programs/adopt-highway) program with over 5000 miles covered by 2400 organizations. They do cleanups about four times a year. [Here](http://adoptahighway.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/new-highway-new-york-long-island.jpg)’s an example of one of the signs for a stretch adopted by a dentist. Not bad for some free advertising. (I wonder if he gets his assistants to do the work. 😛 ) One monetary advantage is you get to keep the $0.05 recycle deposit for any cans and bottles you find. Over two miles that might net you a whole dollar! ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/25 "2013-08-12T20:25:38Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > One more question: Probably from TV, I have the image of groups of prison inmates doing litter clean up along highways. IN the US, doesn’t that make it harder for volunteers to clean up? I mean, if you’re in a safety vest doing cleanup along the road, and your nosy neighbour passes you in her car, how will she know you’re voluntarily doing good, and that you’re not doing community service time for your DUI? I’ve seen the prison inmates cleaning up the roads, you can tell them from volunteers because they are usually all men, in uniforms, with a Department of Corrections van parked nearby. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/26 "2013-08-12T22:30:31Z")
Sahirrnee, thanks, thisis the kind of info I cant find in reports. Still, doesn’t the image of volunteer cleaning suffer some by it often being an inmates job? Like: “i must be crazy to do something voluntarily that crooks get to do as punishment?” In the netherlands, we do have some cleaning done by youngsters doing it as punishment, usually cleaning up graffiti. I spoke to a work overseeer and he told me such groups usually cost more ( professionals supervising and motivating them) then they are worth in labor. Not the groups you want if you want to get the job done. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/27 "2013-08-12T22:50:30Z")
> [@11811](#): > > In the US, clean-up events seem to happen mostly on MLK Day, when people volunteer in their community or another community. Hrm? Everything is still covered in snow on MLK Day. As **bouv** says, Green Up Day is early in May – there’s a pretty good chance it won’t snow again by then. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/28 "2013-08-12T23:47:16Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Sahirrnee, thanks, thisis the kind of info I cant find in reports. Still, doesn’t the image of volunteer cleaning suffer some by it often being an inmates job? Like: “i must be crazy to do something voluntarily that crooks get to do as punishment?” > > In the netherlands, we do have some cleaning done by youngsters doing it as punishment, usually cleaning up graffiti. I spoke to a work overseeer and he told me such groups usually cost more ( professionals supervising and motivating them) then they are worth in labor. Not the groups you want if you want to get the job done. The inmate crews I’ve seen have been on stretches of highway far from anything. Most volunteer cleanup is on state roads in or near towns. Ours was. And we wore jeans, not inmate uniforms. Never even thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/29 "2013-08-12T23:48:19Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > One monetary advantage is you get to keep the $0.05 recycle deposit for any cans and bottles you find. Over two miles that might net you a whole dollar! I don’t remember finding many of these. Booze bottles yes. Paper yes. Also porn and animal bones. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/30 "2013-08-13T01:25:38Z")
I remember in high school we were split in to groups and assigned a section of highway to clean up. You were bused out and dropped off with bags and a teacher or parent for the afternoon. Happened every spring in my small town and covered about 40 km stretches in five directions. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/31 "2013-08-13T01:56:39Z")
Back in the early '90’s, it was a common thing for some of us to hit the parks, round up folks whacked out of their head on shrooms and clean up a bit. Everyone felt better at the end, and nobody went to jail for getting naked and doing the one-leg-“Whoop” dance on top of a cop car. I miss Boulder. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/32 "2013-08-13T02:12:31Z")
In SC, USA. Inmates clean up along interstates and major highways, clean during the day on work-days and it’s not seen as degrading - it’s actually a highly desired inmate job, only given to the ones who aren’t seen as a flight risk or a safety concern. Now, whether they feel the same in the middle of summer is a different thing, but they do actually volunteer for the job and they do get paid for their work. Given how many of our local population end up in jail for something stupid, or have relatives in the clink, that’s pretty well known around here. So having cleaning roads associated with inmates isn’t actually that much of a big deal. Volunteers “adopt” in-town areas or minor roads, get a [sign](http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/files/2010/11/adoptahighway.png)dedicated to them, and do their clean-ups on county holidays or weekends, instead of during the work-week, because they’re usually blue-collar (or pink-collar) working people so they’re busy at their real jobs during the week. It’s considered a sign of local pride and taking responsibility towards your surroundings. Local groups here have feuded over who “gets” to clean what roads, with one local main drag having one group doing one side of the road and the other group managing the other. That is one of the cleanest and prettiest roadsides in the whole county, because they egg each other on. Other than the adopt-a-road, down here we do have county-wide clean-up efforts to mark Earth Day and Arbor Day, and a lot of church groups that do similar wide-spread programs for holidays like Thanksgiving and Easter. I actually encourage you to try and find a way to \*not \*pay people to volunteer - if you ever run out of money, and people are only doing it for the cash, you’re screwed, where if you can instill some sort of civic sense or personal buy-in, then they’re doing it for more lasting personal reasons (and you’re saving your money). ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/33 "2013-08-13T02:33:22Z")
We have reef clean-ups for scuba divers, and beach clean-ups for others. Not advertised very well. I participated in a reef clean-up by accident, once. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/34 "2013-08-13T03:03:07Z")
Yes, we have an annual beach clean up where volunteers pick up trash from the ocean beach. > **[Annual Oregon beach clean up nets more than 52,000 pounds of debris](https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2013/03/annual_oregon_beach_clean_up_n.html)** > > The haul, sponsored by the non-profit group SOLVE, included a substantial amount of what appeared to be insulation and lumber from building projects, but nothing that would be considered unusual. Litter patrol picking up trash from the highways is done during the summer and other holiday breaks as a part time job for school kids. I worked on such a patrol one summer before college. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/35 "2013-08-13T13:41:51Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Sahirrnee, thanks, thisis the kind of info I cant find in reports. Still, doesn’t the image of volunteer cleaning suffer some by it often being an inmates job? Like: “i must be crazy to do something voluntarily that crooks get to do as punishment?” > > In the netherlands, we do have some cleaning done by youngsters doing it as punishment, usually cleaning up graffiti. I spoke to a work overseeer and he told me such groups usually cost more ( professionals supervising and motivating them) then they are worth in labor. Not the groups you want if you want to get the job done. I think that inmates don’t consider picking up litter to be a punishment. I don’t know all the rules but I’m pretty sure they have to earn the privilege because getting outside and doing something beats sitting in a cell, and the county is not going to let risky inmates out and about. I’m sure it counts towards their getting out early where every three days worked takes a day off their sentence. I think the volunteers who clean up probably aren’t comparing themselves to inmates. They usually have a goal and it makes them feel good to contribute something to their community. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/36 "2013-08-13T17:14:26Z")
Here along the upper Mississippi we have “adopt a road” programs as well as periodic river cleanups > **[Home - River Cleanup La Crosse](https://rivercleanuplacrosse.com/)** > > River Cleanup La Crosse, WI. Protecting and preserving the natural environment by reducing pollution and educating the community about the waterways that surround us. Brian ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026/37 "2013-08-13T17:52:03Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Hrm? Everything is still covered in snow on MLK Day. As **bouv** says, Green Up Day is early in May – there’s a pretty good chance it won’t snow again by then. 🙂 Not in every part of the country. Here in the upper Midwest, MLK Day community service would probably be indoors. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-know-does-your-country-have-volunteer-litter-pick-up-events/666026.md?page=1)