Cowlitz County Adopt-A-Road

In 2011 the Cowlitz County Commissioners asked the Department of Public Works to develop an Adopt-A-Road Program at the request of citizens. This program provides citizens with safety equipment, training, and disposal services for roadside litter pickup.

Read about the program in this article.

Adopt-A-Road programs have been very successful. Citizen groups have removed tons of garbage from roadways and improved their communities. See a list of our groups and adopted roadways here.

Selecting a road is easy. You can choose any road in Cowlitz County that is County-maintained. No city streets or highways. Everything else can be adopted by any residential, civil or business group. If you aren't sure if a road is County-maintained, give us a call; we'd be happy to help.

STAFF PICK 2012: Tower Road from SR 503 to Tower Road Bridge.

If you would like to adopt a Cowlitz County Road, the process is simple.

• Set up a group—an individual, family, group of coworkers or other.
• Apply to Department of Public Works. You’ll need a group name and an idea of what road you want to patrol.
• You’ll be asked to clean at least one mile of road two times per year for two years.
• Department of Public Works will provide safety training and supplies as well as trash pickup and disposal.
• Two signs with your group’s name will be placed on the road you have adopted.
• If you aren't sure if picking up roadside litter is fun, click here for some great photos of our volunteers in action!

What is the cost of litter?

• Litter attracts more littering. 15% of littering is attracted by existing visible litter.
• Property values decrease in areas with high litter.
• People avoid areas of high litter for outdoor recreation.
• Clean up costs to public agencies are high, detracting from the development of other public services.

Program Coordinator:

Amy Ammer
• (360) 577 - 3030 ext. 6544
  ammera@co.cowlitz.wa.us