A New Take on Trash
Loui Tucker takes to the highway
Loui Tucker stands proud above a recently cleaned section of Interstate 280 near Meridian Avenue.
Photograph by Lane Johnson
Loui Tucker is passionate about trash—about keeping it where it belongs (in trash receptacles), and out of where it doesn’t.
“We’ve got trash heading for the wrong places,” says Tucker. “We’ve got it heading for the creeks, streets, highways, and parks. In order to get it away from those places, we’ve got to have interceptors—trash picker-uppers…. Otherwise, it’s all going to end up in the ocean.”
Six years ago, Tucker became a coordinator for Caltrans’ Adopt-a-Highway program, which encourages individuals, organizations, and businesses to maintain two-mile stretches of land alongside California highways. Participants in the program remove litter, plant wildflowers, remove graffiti, and control weeds.
Tucker’s group meets once a month to pick up trash alongside Interstate 280 northbound between Meridian and Saratoga avenues. Cleaning that highway stretch usually takes about three hours. Tucker says that on average, about 10 people show up for duty—some who are regulars and some who take part only once.
“Even if you come just once, that’s okay, because that means you will go talk about it to your family, your friends, your coworkers. You will say, ‘You know what I did this weekend? I picked up trash, and it was really kind of cool.’”
Being a part of the Adopt-a-Highway program is a five-year commitment. Tucker and her group are on their sixth year.
“It’s like church, it’s like baseball games, it’s something that you do—it’s part of your routine. We go out for pizza afterwards, which makes it sort of a social event,” she says.
Tucker keeps a website (louitucker.com) with pictures of her unusual finds. Among them are a $50 bill, antique toys, clothes, jewelry, and electronics.
“It’s like a treasure hunt. We find all kinds of crazy stuff,” she says.
Some may be concerned about how safe it is to work alongside California’s busy roadways, but Caltrans says that the Adopt-a-Highway program has an excellent safety record. Group leaders are trained in safety practices and instructed in how to teach them to their groups. Since the program’s inception in 1989, more than 120,000 Californians have cleaned over 15,000 shoulder-miles of roadside.
“It’s very emotionally satisfying,” Tucker says. “You drive by your area and it’s clean. It’s a very gratifying sense of doing something that feels good.”
If you or your social group or organization would like to participate, visit adopt-a-highway.dot.ca.gov. Or email Loui Tucker at .
