Anyone driving through Callaway County has seen them.
Tires lying forlornly in a ditch, fast food bags drifting along like tumbleweeds, discarded mini booze bottles: It's all part of the county's litter problem. With 800-plus miles of road in the county, it gets hard to keep up with the mess when drivers decide to toss their trash out of their window instead of waiting to find a trash can.
"It's a good way to start off the spring, getting our neighborhoods all picked up," County Commissioner Roger Fisher said. "We should have community pride in how we keep our roads. This is the time of year to go do it before the grass and weeds."
The annual Trash Bash gives Callawegians a chance to show their county pride by giving area roads a spring cleaning. It's coming April 13-14.
"We had a lot of success and positive feedback last year," Fisher said. "It seemed like we got a lot of participation. People had asked us to announce the event a little earlier this year."
Participants are asked to stick to county-maintained roadways (those outside towns). Sign up to participate and pick up bright yellow "No more trash!" bags at the Callaway County Courthouse. Or, call 573-642-0737 or send an email to [email protected].
The best part is there's no need to haul your full, heavy trash bags to a dumpster. All volunteers will have to do is call the county and report the bag's location, and a county employee will come pick it up.
"We'd like to have everything picked up on Monday," Fisher said. "People can call in Monday morning and tell us exactly where they left the bags. Place the bags on the shoulder, 2-3 feet from the blacktop."
He noted the pickup is just for litter - not household trash.
County roads don't have sidewalks, so taking safety precautions is important. Wear bright-colored clothes, pay close attention to approaching cars and avoid walking in the road when possible.