Litter Management

Get Involved in Adopt-a-Highway

Participation in North Carolina’s Adopt-A-Highway program is free. NCDOT, however, asks volunteer groups to commit at least four years to cleanups along a 2-mile stretch of roadway. Litter cleanups happen at least four times a year — and sometimes more on heavily traveled roads. 

NCDOT installs two Adopt-A-Highway signs with a recognition panel on the adopted roadway and provides safety training and materials (i.e., safety vests, gloves, and trash bags) so volunteers can safely carry out their goals. NCDOT also removes bags of trash from roadsides once volunteers request a litter pickup.

Applying to Adopt-A-Highway

To volunteer with Adopt-A-Highway, interested groups should first use the litter management map to determine roadway availability and then request a segment when submitting their online application. Apply for the program on the NCDOT website.

For questions, visit the Adopt-A-Highway Frequently Asked Questions webpage or contact a local Adopt-A-Highway coordinator.

Get Involved in Litter Sweep

Litter Sweep is NCDOT’s biannual statewide roadside litter removal initiative. Litter Sweep is traditionally scheduled for the last two weeks of April and September. During Litter Sweep, residents throughout the state participate in local efforts to help clean up North Carolina's roadways.

Volunteers are provided cleanup supplies, such as reversible orange/blue trash bags, gloves and orange safety vests, from their local NCDOT County Maintenance Yard office.

In addition to volunteers, NCDOT maintenance crews devote one week of their time to pick up litter and collect orange bags placed on the roadsides by volunteer pickups.

If you or your team needs supplies, or if you have any questions, contact your local NCDOT litter program coordinator.

Get Involved in Sponsor-a-Highway

NCDOT's Sponsor-A-Highway Program provides businesses, organizations, and individuals the opportunity to sponsor litter removal on North Carolina roadsides while also advertising their company name.

This public-private partnership includes service providers that are responsible for marketing, securing sponsors, installing and maintaining signs and removing and disposing of litter using their own crews.

In return for contracting with one of the service providers to clean a one-mile segment of roadway, an acknowledgement panel identifying the sponsor is attached to a Sponsor-A-Highway Program sign.

Find more information about the sponsorship process, NCDOT's selected providers, and available roadway segments on NCDOT's Sponsor-A-Highway webpage.

Get Involved in Swat-a-Litterbug

Littering North Carolina roadways is illegal and can result in fines for those that commit the offense. Some litterbugs simply need to be informed and reminded that littering – whether deliberate or unintentional – can end with a personal commitment to stop.

NCDOT’s Swat-A-Litterbug Program is for educational purposes and encourages the public to report people who litter in an effort to help make North Carolina roadways cleaner. The program provides every individual an opportunity to be an active participant in reducing litter on North Carolina roadways.

How to Report a Litterbug

The public can report those who litter by contacting NCDOT’s Litter Management Section by filling out an online report or calling 1-800-331-5864. You can also Swat-A-Litterbug on the go with NCDOT's litter web application. Follow the pop-up instructions, or go to the app’s setting’s page, to install a shortcut to your phone or tablet’s home screen.

What Happens After a Report

Upon receipt of the reported information, NCDOT will mail the registered owner of the vehicle that was reported a notification that informs them about the littering offense, the penalties of littering and urges them to help keep North Carolina clean.

North Carolina Litter Laws

Under North Carolina's anti-littering law (G.S. 14-399), individuals may be fined and face community service for intentionally and unintentionally littering. Intentional littering in the amount of 15 pounds or less is a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $250 to $1,000 and up to 24 hours of community service. Unintentional littering in the amount of 15 pounds or less is an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $100 and up to 12 hours of community service.