By Sheldon Spackman

Volunteers encouraged to ‘spring clean’ Alberta’s highways May 5

Apr 29, 2018 | 10:13 AM

Local non-profits and volunteer organizations are being encouraged to take part in next weekend’s annual ‘spring clean’ of Alberta’s highways.

Alberta Transportation’s Annual Highway Cleanup takes place Saturday, May 5 from 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and gives young volunteers a chance to clean up litter from the areas along highways and make our environment a little cleaner while raising money for their organization at the same time.

Officials say volunteers over the age of nine are invited to participate and will wear orange safety vests for the event.

Volunteer organizations encouraged to take part include 4-H Clubs, Scouts, Girl Guides, schools, church organizations, Rotary Clubs, sports teams and other non-profits among others. However, groups must register to take part and attend a safety training program with adult supervision required during the cleanup.

According to Alberta Transportation officials, organizations can earn between $55 and $100 per kilometre cleaned, with the higher amount going to those groups cleaning highways closer to urban centres where more trash tends to accumulate.

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As for drivers, they are reminded to slow down when passing the volunteers cleaning up along the highways and obey all signs. The participants meantime are asked to be aware of their surroundings and make sure they are visible and obey all traffic signs as well.

Last year, over 17,000 volunteers collected more than 53,000 bags of garbage while cleaning up more than 13,000 kilometres of Alberta roads.

This resulted in the Alberta Government contributing about $1.1 million to 709 volunteer organizations involved in the annual highway cleanup.