Crews in Flathead County’s roadside cleanup program gathered about 11,320 pounds of trash along U.S. 93 so far this summer.

For years, the county has received complaints about the volume of trash cluttering the highway corridor, largely due to debris falling off the back of trucks and trailers headed to the landfill. 

An annual cleanup program was launched in 2017 by the county to supplement volunteer work done through Montana’s Adopt a Highway program. Workers earn $20 an hour to pick up and offload road debris each season, which typically starts in late April and ends in late September or early October. 

Work this year began on April 29, and the season is set to end Oct. 3. 

“People need to secure their loads coming to the landfill,” said Flathead County Public Works Director Dave Prunty. “We spend taxpayer dollars to pick this up.” 

The county’s Solid Waste District earmarks $50,000 in its annual budget to hire laborers to clean roadside ditches, Prunty said.  

But it’s getting harder to find people to work in the program, he said. 

The county has had to turn to a temp agency to line up workers. Two different two-person crews worked in the program, the first working from April through June and the second from June through the end of the season. 

The two-person crews off-loaded a daily average of 180 to 200 pounds of trash, covering both sides of U.S. 93 between West Reserve Drive and Montana 40, said county Weed, Parks and Recreation Department Director Chris Maestas.  

This time last year, crews gathered 24,680 pounds of trash, Maestas said. 

“Only thing I can attribute that to is there’s less litter,” Maestas told the Daily Inter Lake, noting the year-over-year decrease. 

The heaviest offload in a day last summer was 880 pounds. This year’s heaviest load came in at 640 pounds. 

One change that may have made a difference is the county’s messaging around securing loads. The messaging is working, Maestas said during the Flathead County commissioners’ meeting on Thursday.  

“I really appreciate, and [Prunty] in Solid Waste really appreciates, the messaging,” he said. “It does make a difference.” 

Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 758-4439 or [email protected].