MEDIA ALERT
For Release: April 5, 2010
Media Contacts:
Brenda Flores-Dollar, TxDOTKaren D. Othon, TxDOT, Houston District
512-486-5904, 713-802-5077,
Robin Blut, Keep Houston Beautiful
713-839-8855
713-805-1201
HoustonVolunteers Celebrate 25th Anniversary of Adopt-a-Highway
On Keep Houston Beautiful Day
WHAT: A Texas-born program that has gone global is marking its25th anniversary this year. Adopt-a-Highway allows volunteers to adopt a two-mile stretch of highway and keep it clean, which helps reduce litter cleanup costs.
The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off isa partnership betweenthe Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB). The event brings together KTB volunteers andAdopt-a-Highway groups from across the state to clean up roadways and their communities on one designated day.
Adopt-a-Highway began in Tyler, Texas, and now includes more than 4,500 groups across the state. The program has inspired similar programs in places such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand, among others.
During theTrash-Off on April 10, people will see volunteers in bright orange safety vests collecting trash from roadways, parks, plantinga ditch,mowing vacant lots, and abating graffiti. Keep Houston Beautifulvolunteers will be working at six locations in honor of the Trash-Off and in celebration of Keep Houston Day. Coca-Cola Enterprises will be providing refreshments, Home Depot trees, Living Earth Technology Houston Mulch™. Financial underwriters for Houston sites include Marathon Oil Corporation, UPS Foundation, AbitibiBowater, HEB, and Republic Waste Services.
WHEN/WHERE:
April 10, 2010
- 8:00 a.m., 944 Reverend BJ Lewis Dr., Acres Homes Super Neighborhood Adopt-A-Ditch, Houston, 77088
- 8:00 a.m., 9110 Tidwell Rd., Tidwell at Commons of Grace, Houston, 77078
- 8:00 a.m., 11903 Bellaire Blvd., Alief Community Park, District F Alief Super Neighborhood, Houston, 77072
- 8:00 a.m., 5000 Harrisburg, Eastwood Park, Greater East End Management District, Houston, 77011
- 8:00 a.m.,3502 Bellfort, Sunnyside Park District D, Houston, 77052
- 8:00 a.m., 12002 Fairmeadow St., Southmeadow, Houston, 77071
PHOTO OPPS:
- Interviews with volunteers and coordinators.
- Volunteers will be outfitted in bright orange safety vests, Great American Cleanup T-shirts, and armed with trash bags as they pick up litter in large groups.
- Volunteers will be taking their own snapshots during Trash-Off. With a handy camera phone or digital camera, they can e-mail unusual trash finds to for the chance to be selected for Don’t Mess with Texas prize packs and to see their pictures featured in a photo gallery on Digital snapshots can also be submitted to .
WHY: Volunteers will be addressing an embarrassing problem: Texas roadside litter. The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off, held annually, is the largest one-day statewide cleanup in the United States.
Keep Houston Beautiful Day is held annually as part of the Great American Cleanup in Houston. To organize an event in your neighborhood check out our helpful coordinator materials and register for free cleanup supplies at Help keep Houston clean and green, volunteer today!
ABOUT: Don't Mess with Texas has been educating Texans about litter prevention since 1986. TxDOT’s litter prevention program includes Adopt-a-Highway and a grassroots partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful. For more information, visit
Keep Houston Beautiful (KHB) has held an annual cleanup day in partnership with the Mayor of Houston and City Council for 30 consecutive years. City of Houston Departments that support KHB neighborhood initiatives include:
Solid Waste Management, Neighborhood Protection Corps, Mayor’s Citizen’s Assistance and Special Event Offices, Houston Police Department, Parks & Recreation and Public Works and Engineering, Right-of-Way and Fleet Maintenance Division.
Additional facts:
KHB as an affiliate of KTB traditionally holds its KHB Day activities in conjunction with TXDOT’s annual Don’t Mess With Texas Trash Off in fact KHB has two similar Adopt-Highway programs. Adopt-A-Block, for city street right-of-ways and a new pilot Adopt-A-Ditch to encourage cleanup of storm drainage areas.
Acres Homes Cleanup site is the second Adopt-A-Ditch project KHB is implanting with City of Houston Public Works Dept., neighborhood volunteers, Teach for America teachers and University of Houston environmental club volunteers. Activities will include litter pick-up, tree planting and installing 700 yellow flag iris. (100 volunteers at this site.)
Volunteers (60) working at Tidwell Rd. and in Alief will be picking up litter. On Tidwell, students from Kipp Academy will help senior residents from Tidwell Commons on Grace clean right-of-way ditches. Alief Super Neighborhood volunteers (150 ) with help from City Council District F office will clean street entrances.
Greater East End Management District volunteers (250) are scheduled to paint out graffiti, mow a vacant lots, plant flowers in East Wood park, cleanup an illegal dump site and pick up trash.
Volunteers in Sunnyside (75) will mow vacant lots and Southmeadow volunteers (25) will mow senior citizen’s homes.