PHOENIX - There’s less trash littering freeways in the Phoenix area these days, according to new data collected by the Arizona Department of Transportation.
ADOT reports highway litter has decreased by about 50 percent since the 2006 launch of “Don’t Trash Arizona.” The program, run by the Maricopa Association of Governments and ADOT, seeks to decrease litter by educating people about the impact it has on the economy and tourism.
According to the study, crews were collecting 500 bags of roadside trash each weekday at the start of Don’t Trash Arizona. That number dropped to about 250 in 2016.
Elected officials, including Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell, presented the numbers at a press conference Tuesday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
“Eliminating freeway litter is one way we can keep not only tourists, but businesses, coming back to our state,” Mitchell said.
Despite the decrease, the Arizona Department of Transportation picked up more than 64,000 bags of litter from Valley freeways in 2016. Statistics show it costs Maricopa County taxpayers about $3 million a year to clean up the roadways.
ADOT said litter is also dangerous; about 125 people die in debris-related car accidents nationwide each year.