On Illinois highways, IDOT spends millions to clean up bags of trash every day
CHICAGO (CBS) –It's seemingly never-ending work. Crews with the Illinois Department of Transportation said they've constantly removing trash and debris from expressways.
IDOT even hires private companies to help sweep the shoulders of the roads, but a lot of the work is done by hand.
CBS 2's Noel Brennan tagged along with a crew near 47th Avenue and the Dan Ryan Expressway.
It's tough keeping up with everything that needs picking up along the Dan Ryan.
"Oh yeah, a little bit of everything," said one worker
"We do this daily on every expressway that IDOT has," said Mark Hodo, with IDOT,
He is in charge of the Dan Ryan Maintenance Yard.
"That's our entire goal is to get as much litter up as we can," Hodo said.
His crews fill bags and then trucks with trash that drivers toss aside.
"We can get anything from furniture, mattresses, clothes, hygiene waste, animal carcasses," he said. "It's a host of things."
In Cook County, and surrounding counties, this work keeps IDOT busy.
In 2022, crews picked up 70 tons of litter. To date in 2023, they've collected about 47 tons, Hodo said.
As the trash piles up, so does the cost of removing it. In 2022, IDOT said it spent about $26.5 million removing litter and debris from Illinois roadways.
All that taxpayer money wasted on waste could pay to resurface 13 miles of interstate or even purchase 143 IDOT maintenance trucks.
"It tells me that we need some help from the motoring public," said Hodo.
Think before you throw, as IDOT puts it.
"Also, the trucks that are driving up and down the highway that carry litter and waste, if they can just tie their loads down better, that would help us out a whole lot," he added.
For IDOT crews, it's about keeping pace with a daily problem.
"As long as we can get to it every day, we try," said Hodo.
CBS 2 asked IDOT about the strangest finds while picking up trash along the expressways. IDOT workers said firearms occasionally turn up.
When they do, they call Illinois State Police.
