Get Involved

How can you help?

You can help keep our highways clean and safe. Whether you have a little time or want to take on a bigger role, there are ways for everyone to get involved. 

Volunteer for a Cleanup

Join a cleanup event or organize your own with friends, family, or classmates. Picking up litter helps protect the environment, wildlife, and our community. According to Forbes, millions of taxpayer dollars are spent each year on highway litter cleanups — money that could go toward schools, roads, and healthcare. Community efforts can help reduce this burden (Karimi, B., & Faghri).

• Ways to Participate:

  • Sign up for a scheduled cleanup

  • Host a cleanup at your school or neighborhood

  • Earn community service hours by volunteering

Spread the Word

Help raise awareness about the effects of littering and encourage others to take action. Highway litter affects all of us in the Gretna community by spreading the word about the dangers of litter You can make people be more mindful of littering on the highway. 

• How You Can Help:

  • Share facts and tips on social media

  • Use the hashtag #ClearRoadsCleanFuture on Instgram and TikTok

  • Talk to your friends, family, and teachers about keeping roads clean

Advocate for Change

Let local leaders know how important this issue is to you. The legislator will have to listen if an issue is brought to them repeatedly, and through this, we can achieve the goal of passing laws that would limit highway litter, making Gretna clean, safe, and beautiful for everyone. 

• What You Can Do:

• • Write letters or emails to city officials

  • Support stronger litter laws

  • Attend local meetings and speak up

Create a Campaign

Use your creativity to help spread the message. The more that people know about the issue, the more they become educated on the matter If we could educate everyone in the community about the dangers of highway litter, there would be a drastic decrease in over highway litter making clean up easier and saving Gretna a lot money.

• What you can do:

• Make posters or flyers

• Organize a school contest

• Create short videos or presentations

Works Cited

Arnold, Sierra. Personal interview with the author. 4 Apr. 2025.

Conroy-Ben, O., and Christensen, T. Reducing Highway Litter. U.S. Department of Transportation, 2013, https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/26223/dot_26223_DS1.pdf.

Forbes, Gerry J. Reducing Litter on Roadsides. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, 2009. Transportation Research Board, https://legacy.csce.ca/elf/apps/CONFERENCEVIEWER/conferences/2018/pdfs/Paper_EN31_0608023420.pdf.

Karimi, B., & Faghri, A. The Issues of Roadside Litter: A Review Paper. Current Urban Studies, vol. 9, no. 4, 2021, pp. 785-799. Scientific Research Publishing, https://www.scirp.org/pdf/cus_2021121414115754.pdf.

Mottaghi, M. Performance Properties of Recycled Plastic Modified (RPM) Asphalt Mixtures Added via the Dry Method. Auburn University, 2024, https://etd.auburn.edu/handle/10415/9488.