As you hit the road this week, give us a brake. The Ecology Youth Corps’ teenage litter crews began picking up Washington roads and highways today and will continue working through August. Ecology asks motorists to pay attention to “Ecology crew working” signs and provide an extra margin of safety as crews work along the shoulders.

Working with the Ecology Youth Corps is the first real job for most of these teenagers. They will work for the next four weeks before a second set of teens joins the youth corps in August.

“Picking up litter is a hard, dirty job,” said Laurie Davies, who manages Ecology’s litter programs. “We’re asking drivers to make our work a little easier by moving over when they see a crew on the road. You can help even more by preventing litter in the first place – keep a trash bag in your car and tie down your cargo.”

More than 12 million pounds of litter is dropped on Washington’s roads each year – enough to fill 800 garbage trucks. The Ecology Youth Corps and other state-funded litter pickup programs collect about 5 million pounds of that total.

A total of 32 Ecology Youth Corps crews will be working across Washington this summer, based in these areas:

• Eastern region – Chewelah/Colville, Inchelium, Ephrata, Moses Lake, Pasco, Republic, Spokane, Othello
• Central region – Ellensburg, Goldendale, Richland, Sunnyside, Toppenish, Yakima/Union Gap
• Northwest region – Whatcom County, Skagit and North Snohomish County, Central/South Snohomish County, North King County, East King County, South King County
• Southwest region – Aberdeen/Montesano, Chehalis, Lacey, Puyallup, Tacoma, Vancouver