CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is accepting registrations for the Adopt-A-Highway Fall Statewide Cleanup set for Sept. 27.

Co-sponsored by the WVDEP and the state Division of Highways, the Adopt-A-Highway program is administered by the WVDEP’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan and improves the quality of the state’s environment by encouraging public involvement in the elimination of highway litter.

Individuals, groups, and organizations can register to pick up trash on most state-maintained roads, back roads, or main routes. Private roads and interstate highways cannot be adopted. The Adopt-A-Highway program provides garbage bags, work gloves and safety vests to volunteers, and takes care of disposing of collected trash. Volunteers must be at least 12 years old to participate. One-time cleanups are encouraged but must be registered.

Groups must register in advance by Sept. 17 and inform their county DOH garage if they need supplies. Supplies may be picked up during normal business hours at your local DOH Garage.

To register, call 1-800-322-5530 or send an email to dep.aah@wv.gov. If you reach the REAP voicemail, please leave your name, phone number, group name, date of cleanup, number of participants, and the county where your adopted road is located.

Last year, Adopt-A-Highway volunteers performed more than 49,000 hours of labor and removed over 215,000 pounds of litter.

The REAP initiative harbors all of the state cleanup programs within the WVDEP and provides citizens, communities, and local governments with technical, financial, and resource assistance in cleanup efforts.