'Adopt a Highway' program has kept Texas roadways clean for decades

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- You've likely seen the TxDOT signs that say "Adopt a Highway."

Thousands of volunteer Texans take care of cleaning our roadways -- many of them in the Houston area. One of those volunteers is Michael Savage of St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Webster.

"Plastic drink bottles, plastic car parts, paper bags from fast food places, styrofoam cups from fast food places," Savage said.

It's a long list of trash items Savage gathers from State Highway 3 between NASA Parkway and El Dorado.

"We'll typically start around 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning and finish up around 2 p.m.," Savage said of his work alongside other church volunteers.

It's a church so small they take care of their own landscaping -- but for years, have also taken care of the community landscape. Parish Council president Bill Gazis says they jumped at the chance to Adopt a Highway through TxDOT.

"I believe we're one of -- probably one of the smaller organizations that do it," Gazis said. "So when they see our name up on that blue and white sign, I'd just like for them to know that a really relatively small, tiny church here in the Clear Lake area stepped up."

Savage is also an outdoorsman who appreciates what this simple effort does for the Earth.

"Our faith tells us that this is a gift and that we're stewards of this gift," Savage said.

Taking care of our state's natural gifts is a tradition that began in Tyler, Texas, in 1985, has spread worldwide, from Canada to Japan, and continues to this day.

According to TxDOT, Adopt a Highway volunteers pick up litter on 6,800 miles of roadway statewide. There are 3,400 participating groups, 133 of which are in the immediate Houston area.

"We do get calls from people that want to adopt stretches of I-45 or one of our major highways," TxDOT spokesperson Danny Perez said. "We don't allow that because of safety issues that come with it, but there are plenty of FMs, plenty of local highways that are available."

A highway is adopted for two years, and each group must agree to clean their stretch four times a year.

Any individual, family, group, organization, or company is welcome to adopt a segment of the highway. You can find your local coordinator in the TxDOT website.

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