INDIANAPOLIS -- People who live in an Indianapolis neighborhood just south of downtown are fed up with the trash that litters I-70 and blows into their lawns.
"There's a lot of people that come through and they toss their trash out there," said Pamela Beard.
I-70 goes right through the Old Southside neighborhood where Beard lives.
She says trash from the interstate spills onto her street.
"So, about once a month, I've got to get out here with a bag and I pick up the trash all the way down to Morris Street, because nobody's picking it up," said Beard.
"It blows into my yard. I'm pretty much out here all the time so I pick it up as it goes," said Damon Nance, who lives in the neighborhood.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is not responsible for any trash that blows from the interstate into yards, but they do pick up 3,400 bags of garbage each year.
INDOT spokesman Lamar Holliday says his agency tries to keep up with the dumped debris. The agency spends more than $5 million per year picking up trash.
"They're out doing other duties as well. We now are in construction season, and so some of our maintenance crews are out setting up work zones to help keep our workers safe during certain construction projects," said Holliday.
He says more than 1,000 community groups help with the effort by sponsoring a portion of the interstate.
For safety reasons, they don't pick up the trash themselves. The groups cover the cost of a contractor to clean a one-mile stretch of interstate.
"Normally we ask for them to clean it up at least four times a year and two times specifically in early spring and fall. If they're not able to, we'll try to get out there and clean it up," said Holliday.
If you'd like to sponsor a highway, click here.
INDOT also has an Adopt-a-Highway program that coordinates with community groups to provide trash and litter pickup on two-mile segments of non-interstate highways.
Groups are asked to clean their designated two-mile area four times a year, including once in the early spring and in late fall.
Click here for more information about the Adopt-A-Highway program.
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