MCDOT Kicks Off Earth Month by Partnering with DEP to Pick Up Litter

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 6, 2021

To celebrate Earth Month, Montgomery County has begun a spring #PloggingChallenge that runs from April 1 through June 30. The Plogging Challenge is led by the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in partnership with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and Montgomery Parks. Plogging is picking up trash while jogging or walking.

Residents can join the #PloggingChallenge by taking a photo of themselves while plogging and tagging DEP’s Instagram account @mygreenmc or using the hashtag #MontgomeryPlogs on Instagram. Participants can also submit photos via email to DEP.contests@montgomerycountymd.gov. Anyone who joins the #PloggingChallenge will be eligible to receive a free “Plog-A-Long" pack by signing up on the DEP website.

For years, MCDOT has actively involved the public in removal of litter from roadways through its Adopt A Road (AAR) program. More than 5,000 volunteer residents, families, organizations and businesses help keep 480 road segments free of litter by cleaning their adopted road segments at least six times a year and reporting the results to MCDOT.

Removing litter does more than eliminate eyesores – it keeps pollutants out of storm drains, local streams and, eventually, the Potomac and Patuxent rivers. Montgomery County was an original signatory to the Alice Ferguson Foundation's regional anti-litter campaign - Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative.

Learn more at montgomerycountymd.gov/adoptaroad.

See what else MCDOT is doing to help improve environmental quality and fight climate change, visit ow.ly/6psQ30rDCDf.

Release ID: 21-040
Media Contact: Hannah Henn 240-777-8389