MnDOT says volunteers gathered 42,100 bags of trash in 2023 [Video]

ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor’s note: The video above first aired in November of 2018. 

Navigating Minnesota’s highways and byways would be a far trashier experience were it not for an army of volunteers that cleans up what others leave behind, or even toss out the window. 

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) revealed Wednesday that Adopt a Highway volunteers picked up enough garbage to fill 42,100 bags in 2023. Their efforts keep the state’s roadsides and rest stops clean and free of littler, and MnDOT is looking for even more volunteers to help in the effort. 

Last year, more than 2,000 volunteer groups put in nearly 100,000 hours walking their adopted stretch of roadway and picking up paper, glass, metal, and just about anything else you can image. MnDOT says the …