Treasure, trash dot highways
By Susan Gatton Special to the Kansan
Picking up trash along a two-mile stretch on Kansas Highway 10 may be drudgery for some, but for Matt Gregory the task is a treasure hunt.
Highway litter
The following items are the most common trash items as cited by KU Environs and Stephenson Scholarship Hall. These two groups pick up highway litter.
1. Cigarette butts
2. Fast food wrappers
As part of the Adopt-A-Highway program, sponsored by the Kansas Department of Transportation, Gregory and other members of Stephenson Scholarship Hall spend one Saturday a semester picking up cans, wrapper and bottles.
3. Beer cans/bottles
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," said Gregory, Independence, Mo., senior. "It's kind of funny to see the stuff people throw away."
5. Other reading materials e.g. newspaper, pamphlets
6. Tire treads
4. Magazines
The department provides safety vests and trash bags, and the groups provide the labor. In return, the groups receive a sponsorship sign posted along the adopted highway. The cleanup usually takes an entire morning or afternoon. Fraternities, sororities or service clubs leave the bags on the roadside for maintenance crews to collect.
Although fast food wrappers, beer cans and magazines are top 10 trash finds, some people discover more unusual things. The best of the trash often goes home with the volunteers. Marcus Brewer, Topeka senior, said that some people collected old license plates or drivers' licenses. Many of the plates adorn the walls of residents' rooms as a testimony of their work. He said the group often found items that people probably shouldn't have thrown away, such as
7. Old shoes
Angle Kuhn/KANSAN
check stubs or bank statements.
"We found a table and chair," Gregory said. "Sometimes we'll find a plastic sword or toy gun. The toys, we keep."
Matt Caldwell, president of KU Environs recalled a sign reading, "Danger. This lake is contaminated, no fish is safe for consumption," which was that group's top treasure. They also have found shoes, socks and other clothing thrown on the highway. Even these unusual items cannot overshadow the reality of contaminated roadsides.
well said. "It's really kind of nasty work." However, the work does not go unappreciated.
"Cigarette butts carpet the planet," Cald-
Michael Weyer, maintenance supervisor with the transportation department, said that since he had a limited amount of workers, groups like Stephenson Hall and KU Environs really helped his department by cleaning the highways.
"We have two or three new groups a year," Weyer said. "I've never heard of anyone being turned down after volunteering."
The experience seems to be worthwhile for everyone involved. Stephenson's residents usually get up early on a Saturday in late September to clean their stretch of highway. The residents always follow the cleanup with a hot pizza lunch, which often is the highlight of the trip, Gregory said.
"The hardest thing is getting people up and going early on a Saturday morning," Brewer said.
Brewer, Stephenson president, said that many visitors and prospective KU students drove along Highway 10. His personal goal is to make the highway between Lawrence and Eudora look its best.
"It's a good thing to show other people that you have some concern for how your roads look," he said. "Plus, you'll appreciate the experience more next time you think about throwing a can out the window."
Environs members planned a cleanup expedition for late fall. Caldwell said they usually ate donuts and coffee before they cleaned to the beat of someone's car stereo.
"We just kind of make it a party," he said. Caldwell also said that he had a more serious objective.
"I'm part of the problem just being alive," he said. "Cleaning is a nice thing to do to take care of my part."
To adopt a highway, groups can phone Michael Weyer at the KDOT maintenance office at 842-0229, which can be reached by taking Highway 59 across the Massachusetts Street Bridge to the intersection with Highways 24-40. Turn right onto 24-40. The offices are on the south side of the road.
November 5,1996 The Hill
Community Outreach
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