27-05-2025
Program gives Ohioans a second chance and keeps roads clean
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — When driving on the highway, you may see a few pieces of trash. You also might see groups of people outside collecting it, keeping the roads safe and clean.
'It gives me responsibility,' team lead driver for Interstate Business Solutions Michael Dunn said. 'Now I'm a responsible man.'
Interstate Business Solutions (IBS) contracts with the Ohio Department of Transportation to collect litter from highways. While cleaning the roadways, IBS also gives Ohioans who need one a second chance. Dunn, who said he has been in trouble previously, said working at IBS has put him on a good path.
'They helped me in life, I'm trouble-free. I work every day,' he said. 'It keeps me out of trouble. And once I'm done, I'm home, I'm in the bed at a certain time.'
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IBS alone collected 122,290 bags of trash from January 2024 to mid-March 2025. That equates to nearly 2 million pounds, IBS supervisor Garey McCartney said.
'We take pride in being able to clean it up, make it safer, make it look nicer,' McCartney said.
McCartney has been a supervisor with IBS for nearly two years. He said the job means a lot to some of the team members.
'It gives them an opportunity to invest back in the community because most guys work in the market where they're from,' he said.
IBS has seven markets across Ohio where they work to keep certain stretches of the roads clean.
'That is tires, bottles, anything that's trash related, we take care of it,' Dunn said.
Tires and bottles only scratch the surface; Dunn said they find IDs, credit cards, pairs of skis, gardening tools and so much more. McCartney said one story sticks out to him, when the team thought they saw one or two tires.
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'And low and behold there were 31 tires in that one spot,' he said. 'So, that's a lot. And that's just one little activity in the day. So, we don't understand a lot of the times how much is really out there.'
Dunn said he hopes to see the program keep growing.
'My advice to anyone that's been in trouble, they ought to try it out. I mean its just trash, we just pick up trash,' Dunn said. 'If you keep that pace, and keep moving, you'll be alright.'
McCartney said he likes to tell people to imagine if no one was out there cleaning things up, just how much garbage there would be on the side of the road. What IBS does is only the beginning. ODOT has several other contractors who, according to a spokesperson, collected 644,139 bags in 2024, including IBS' efforts. ODOT said they spent about $10 million every year to keep roads clean.
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