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Local highways trashed: Volunteers who pick up litter strive to get to source of problem

East County Citizens’ Alliance expands mission to get local, state leaders involved

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category icon Camas, Clark County, Environment, News, Washougal
A dump truck drives past trash on the side of state Highway 14 on March 27. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

A dump truck drives past trash on the side of state Highway 14 on March 27. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

A sign along state Highway 14 encourages motorists to not litter, as seen March 27. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

A sign along state Highway 14 encourages motorists to not litter, as seen March 27. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Litter sits among dead leaves March 27 along state Highway 14. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Litter sits among dead leaves March 27 along state Highway 14. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

East County Citizens’ Alliance volunteers pose for a photo while picking up trash from the side of state Highway 14 in east Clark County on June 28. (Melanie Wilson)

East County Citizens’ Alliance volunteers pose for a photo while picking up trash from the side of state Highway 14 in east Clark County on June 28. (Melanie Wilson)

A beer can and vodka bottle are among the garbage littering state Highway 14 in east Clark County in this 2022 photo. (Contributed by Melanie Wilson)

A beer can and vodka bottle are among the garbage littering state Highway 14 in east Clark County in this 2022 photo. (Contributed by Melanie Wilson)

East County Citizens’ Alliance finds a wide variety of litter, including lumber tags, along state Highway 14. (Contributed by Melanie Wilson)

East County Citizens’ Alliance finds a wide variety of litter, including lumber tags, along state Highway 14. (Contributed by Melanie Wilson)

A car zooms by an area where litter has collected March 27 along state Highway 14. (taylor balkom/The Columbian)

A car zooms by an area where litter has collected March 27 along state Highway 14. (taylor balkom/The Columbian)

The nonprofit East County Citizens’ Alliance has mobilized volunteer crews to clean stretches of state Highway 14 through Camas and Washougal since 2022. In that time, the volunteers removed an estimated 24,000 pounds of trash under the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Adopt-a-Highway program.

The alliance’s cleanup effort has revealed to its volunteers the scale and nature of roadside pollution, from lumber tags and industrial plastic to fast-food packaging, Styrofoam and booze bottles.

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