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.

Are you interested? Download the brochure (PDF) and application materials (PDF)

call: 360-577-3030  or email today: publicworks@co.cowlitz.wa.us