Trash pick season winding down

It's been a good season for trash picking in Minnesota. This is the last week of the picking season for the Hopkins Volunteers.

Hopkins Volunteers

Here are new signs for Hwy 169, the site running from the Crosstown (Hwy 62) and Hwy 7.

This site runs through the towns of Edina, Minnetonka, and Hopkins.

Pick dates are October 2 and 9.  Meet at the Depot Coffee Shop.

The first group on each date will begin at 9:30 AM.  The second group for each date will be 1:30 PM.

new Adopt-A-Highway group - Hopkins Volunteers

The stretch of Hwy 169 from Hwy 62 to Hwy 7 will be transferred from Bethany Lutheran College Friends to Hopkins Volunteers.

New signs have been ordered.  Preparations are underway to recruit volunteers for the Fall pickup.

Picking continues

The weather was nasty during the three Saturdays for the Bethany Lutheran College Friends group.  Now that the weather has improved the picking continues.  Call Norman Teigen at 612-750-9101 and help out.

May 8th - 6:45 AM

It's pretty cold outside this morning and terribly wet.  I don't really expect anyone to come out for trash picking under these conditions.

I'll be there at the 'Bou by 8:30 AM for some oatmeal and a cup of dark roast.  Join me for conversation.

I'll have my trash picking stuff along in my SUV just in case.

May 8, 2010 -Bethany Lutheran College Friends

The final weekend of the Spring clean-up for Friends of Bethany Lutheran College is scheduled for Saturday, May 8, 2010.  Meet at the Caribou Coffee  at 8:30 - 9:00 AM.  This Caribou is at Bren Rd and Hwy 169 in Edina.

Weather has been troublesome this year for this group because of rain and wind.  I hope that many of you will be able to make it this Saturday.

Since road work is somewhat strenuous and since every one has other things to do, the activity will be terminated not later than 10:30 AM.

Rained out

Rain washed out the trash pick on April 24th.  The forecast is for rain again this weekend so if we can't work on Saturday the 1st we'll try again on May 8th.

Bethany Lutheran College Friends-April 24th; May 1 and 8

Highway 169 is scheduled for trash picking by Friends of Bethany College.  The picking zone is between Hwy 62 and Hwy 7 in the cities of Edina, Hopkins, and Minnetonka.

Assemble at the Caribou Coffee at Hwy 169 and Bren Road in Edina between 8:30 and 9:00 AM.

I know that there is a 60% chance of rain on Saturday but if the 24th of April doesn't work out, come on May 1st or May 8th.  

See you there!

Nine Mile Creek CAC - Hwy 62 - April 17, 2010 #2

I think that about 25 people participated in the trash pick at Hwy 62 in Edina MN on Saturday, April 17th.   Here the group is assembling and enjoying coffee provided by Caribou.  Clare Beeser divided the pickers into four groups and this division of labor was one of the keys to the success of the project.  Willing workers out on a beautiful Minnesota morning picked about 50 bags.

I was very happy to have a very energetic group of Edina High School students in my group.

These students were encouraged to participate in the event by their biology teacher.   I have a lot of respect for those Edina Hornets.

New safety video available from MN DOT

 http://www.youtube.com/user/rfilipczak#p/a/u/0/aFxiDZ6O0hA

Nine Mile Creek CAC - Hwy 62 - April 17, 2010

Nine Mile Creek trash pickers will gather on Saturday, April 17th.

Those coming from the east can assemble at the Watershed office at 9:30 AM.   Meet at 7710 Computer Ave, Suite 135, Bloomington.

Those coming from the west may  gather at the Caribou at Bren Road and 169 in Edina between 8:30 and  9:00.

Call Claire Beeser at 952-358-2276 or Norman Teigen at 612-750-9101.

Maureen Hackett for Congress

Nineteen people from the Hackett for Congress campaign came to pick up trash along Hwy 62. The group assembled at the bagel shop around noon on Saturday, April 3rd, and nearly 50 bags were picked in two hours time.

Cool tool for trash pick-up

Here is a great new tool for picking. It's a 27" three-pronged steel rake with a handle and a grip. It's actually a hoe and a rake so it could be used for gardening as well.
The rake handle expands to 38" with a simple twist of the wrist. It's a well-made tool with some heft and it should last for many years.
The professional model is shown lifting an empty beer can on the tong of the rake where it will be deposited in the bag. I paid six bucks for this cool tool so I bought out the Pine River-Alco store's entire stock.

It's always trash out there, but some kid lost a teddy bear

Was this teddy bear blown out of an open car window or did it fall from a trailer? This picture was taken in the south ditch of WB 62 between Shady Oak Road and the 212 curve in Eden Prairie MN.

Join the fun - April 3, 2010 - 12 noon - Minnetonka

Join Norman's friends at the Einstein Bagel Shop on Red Circle Drive in Minnetonka. If you're not familiar with Red Circle Drive, you will recognize the shop as being at Shady Oak Road and Hwy 62.

Assembly begins at 12 noon in the parking lot where vests and bags will be issued. The route is to walk eastward along the WB ditch of Hwy 62 towards the Hwy 169 curve. There is a lot of blown trash to be retrieved and I don't honestly think that we can make it all the way to Hwy 169. It's a pretty broad ditch in that stretch.

Come to the Einstein Bagel Shop and I promise to buy anyone who shows up a cup of that really great Einstein Bros. coffee.

Statistics on Minnesota Volunteerism

Each week I receive Session Weekly a publication of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

A feature of the current issue was a consideration of Minnesota's quality of life. Volunteerism is alive and well in Minnesota: volunteers contributed 169.7 million hours in public service in 2008. In 2008 36.9 % of Minnesotans aged 16 and older performed volunteer services. The national percentage? 26.4 %.

Good video from Washington State about Adopt-A-Highway

It doesn't take much to make a big mess

There was a big mess on Highway 169 SB in Hopkins. A truck had spilled a load of some kind of insulation along the roadway. It looked like lint from a home dryer. It took 15 bags to clean it up. This was my first pick of the season.

By the way, there was a feature in the local paper yesterday about Sentenced-to-Serve. More people are trying to work off their sentences in STS. Problem is, state budget cuts are reducing the funds available.

It's up to the volunteers to carry the burden of trash collecting in Minnesota. The state values a daily STS worker at $100. Just think of all the money the state saves because of volunteers. Wow! A hundred bucks a day!

Some facts on litter

Adopt-a-Highway volunteers pick up litter on more than 12,000 miles of Minnesota roadways.
Adopt-a-Highway volunteers pick up approximately 26,000 tons of litter every year.
During a one-time sweep of Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, Adopt-a-Highway volunteers picked up 192 tons of trash in one day. The quantity filled 16 Mn/DOT tandem trucks and represented approximately 6,000 filled trash bags.
Researchers calculate that 55% of all littering is done intentionally by people who drop or discard products.
45% of roadside litter occurs unintentionally when trash blows out of uncovered trucks or falls off unsecured loads.
Experts estimate that approximately 80% of all littering is done by males.
Food and beverage packaging constitutes 51% of roadside litter.

A conviction for littering is a misdemeanor that is entered on the offender's driving record. A second offense requires a minimum fine of $400 and a maximum of $700. A judge may require the offender to pick up litter along public roads or impose a jail sentence. (Minn. Statutes 169.42 subp. 5)
Mn/DOT can bill an individual for retrieving and disposing of illegally dumped items like tires, appliances, furniture and hazardous waste.
Adopt-a-Highway volunteers save Mn/DOT $5 million every year.
Tipping fees imposed by landfills cost Mn/DOT approximately $250,000 every year.

Life span of Litter:

lass bottle 1 million years
Plastic 6-pack cover 450 years
Aluminum can 200-500 years
Rubber boot sole 50-80 years
Leather up to 50 years
Nylon fabric 30-40 years
Plastic film container 20-30 years
Painted wooden stake 13 years
Plastic bag 10-20 years
Plastic coated paper 5 years
Wool clothing 1-5 years
Cigarette butt 1-5 years
Cotton rag 1-5 months
Orange or banana peel 2-5 weeks
Source: California Waste Management Bulletin

[source: MNDOT}

Some strange Adopt-A-Highway signs across America

Follow this link to some unusual Adopt-A-Highway signs. Obviously, local laws and policies apply.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/30-strange-adopt-a-highway-signs

Texas was first

On March 9, 1985, the first-ever Adopt-a-Highway sign is erected on Texas’s Highway 69. The highway was adopted by the Tyler Civitan Club, which committed to picking up trash along a designated two-mile stretch of the road.

The Adopt-a-Highway program really began the year before, when James Evans, an engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation, noticed litter blowing out of the back of a pickup truck he was following in Tyler, Texas. Concerned about the increasing cost to the government of keeping roadways clean, Evans soon began asking community groups to volunteer to pick up trash along designated sections of local highways. Evans got no takers for his idea; however, Billy Black, the public information officer for the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation, took up the cause and organized the first official Adopt-a-Highway program, which included training and equipment for volunteers. After the Tyler Civitan Club’s sign went up on March 9, other groups volunteered to beautify their own stretches of highway. The program eventually spread to the rest of the U.S. and to such countries as Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

[source: The History Channel]

There is great opportunity to participate in Adopt-A-Highway

Getting started

Contact your DOT person about starting an Adopt-A-Highway project. If you live in Minnesota, follow this link: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/adopt/

Socialization is one of the best benefits of Adopt-A-Highway participation

It's always fun to get together with friends and pick up trash along the highways. It's a way to meet new friends, too.

The goal is to keep the highways clean

We take pride in our state and I am sure that you do, too. Highway trash can be a serious hazard. This winter a woman drove over a mattress that was out in the highway and although she was able to pull off the road, her vehicle was lost from fire.

Last September friends of ours were forced off the highway when a loose load of building materials came down in front of them. They came to rest in a cornfield and suffered serious injuries.

What kind of trash is out there?

There is all kinds of trash out there. I think that the DOT research shows that something like 45% of the trash has just blown from somewhere while 55% of the trash has been deliberately discarded. In some places it's wind-blown trash that prevails and in other places it's discarded stuff.

Trash is considered abandoned property. If there is anything of value that a picker finds it's finders-keepers-losers-weepers. Every year we've found money spilling out of abandoned fast food packages. I found a hundred bucks once in a wallet, but there was a driver license in it and so I found the owner. The owner was nice enough to buy me a $20 Caribou Coffee card.

Most of the trash is coffee cups, plastic bottles, fast food trash, clothing, styrofoam, and tools. I found some marijuana on a city street in Minnetonka and I called the cops. I found an SUV in Nine Mile Creek and I called the cops.

Occasionally one finds the remnants of auto accidents, stuff like fenders and bumpers and tail lights.

If it can't fit into a bag, we wrap a bag around the stuff so that the DOT people can easily see it.

What is needed to pick up trash?

It goes without saying that one's organizational details have to be completed before the picking can be done. Start with the Department of Transportation. In Minnesota the site is: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/adopt/

The DOT requires that a contract be signed. I have found that the DOT people are very friendly and easy to work with. The DOT is very happy to have people pick up trash along the highways.

The DOT provides the signs and the bags. The individual pickers are responsible for their own gloves.

As an organizer I provide some tools that I have found to be useful. The most important tool for me is a three-pronged rake. I don't mind bending over to pick up the trash but a rake sure helps.

I like to put my trash bags in a plastic laundry basket that goes on a cart. It's easier to keep the bag open when it is in a basket. I keep a supply of empty bags in the bottom of the laundry basket so that there is always a new bag available when a bag has been filled.

Our groups have found it useful to have several pickers work with the bagger. We have found it convenient for the pickers to carry small plastic pails while they walk the ditches. The pickers put the trash into their pails and empty them when they become full.

It saves energy if the pickers can move along the route in a straight line. This might seem awkward at first, but believe me it, it really works.

Now is a good time to think about getting organized

It's been a long winter in Minnesota. One of the local news persons said that for 88 days the snow pack was five inches or more. That's a lot of snow.

Now the ice and snow are receding. It's time to think about cleaning up the highways. I don't want to go out on to the highways quite yet because the conditions aren't quite right. I like to pick when the weather is a bit warmer and the shoulders are a little less soggy. I think that drivers aren't quite ready for we Adopt-a-Highway people yet and if they aren't ready for us then it is not as safe as it should be.

A good time to start is Earth Day, April 17th. There is a lot of interest in Earth Day and I think that people would be responsive to a request for participation.

Start publicizing your activity soon.

I like to select a local coffee shop that is well known to the participants. The location should be close to the pick-up site. I always like to promise a cup of coffee to whomever wants one. I suggest that groups meet early to allow for other personal activities. No one wants to think that they will spend all day picking trash. I don't want to spend an entire day picking trash.

I have found from experience that few people can do more than one hour at a time. It is not very easy work to pick trash on a highway.

Introducing a new blog on highway clean-up

My name is Norman Teigen and I live in Hopkins MN. I work with several different organizations to pick up highway trash on Minnesota highways. Altogether my groups are responsible for 22 miles of highway.

I hope that this blog could become a source of information for any persons who are interested in this worthy civic action work.