North Carolina: Adopt a Highway

The Adopt a Highway program began in 1985. The program was conceived by James Evans, a engineer at the Texas Department of Transportation, who was inspired after seeing litter fly out of the back of a pickup. This 1990 photograph shows an Adopt a Highway sign in North Carolina. When a group adopts a section of highway, they receive volunteer training and are required to keep that section of highway clean. In exchange a sign bearing the groups name is posted in their section of highway.