Harmony’s Adopt A Highway
Harmony Enterprises’ core purpose is career, community, and culture. For over 62 years, we have found ways to live out our core values, sharing our success with the local community. We are continually looking for ways to give back, especially ways that makes our earth a more sustainable place for generations to come. That’s why we continue to team up with the MnDOT to adopt a highway!
Harmony employees continue to give back, doing what they can to practice environmental stewardship in our local communities.
It all started in 2020 when one of the members of our Engineering Department, Ryan Breckenridge, who had been involved in the Adopt-A-Highway project with his family for over five years, learned of an opportunity near Harmony and immediately brought the idea forward as a way to continue giving back.
Taking Ryan’s lead, we then contacted the Minnesota Department of Transportation to learn more about the stretch of road that would be assigned to us and what our responsibilities entailed. Harmony Enterprises adopted a four mile section of State Highway 43 near Choice, MN. This road travels through the beautiful Choice Valley region, surrounded by rolling hills, bluffs, creeks, and abundant wildlife.
Since that time, Harmony Enterprises employees have taken turns volunteering to do this work. Each clean up day consists of approximately 6-10 volunteers working for about 4 hours. We pick up all of the litter on this stretch of highway, disposing of the waste and recycling commodities that can be reused.
Harmony employees & families helped on our first Adopt-A-Highway back in the fall of 2020!
This past week, we had our first pick up of 2024. We had a beautiful afternoon and energetic help from our dedicated Harmony employees! With a careful plan of attack and hard work, we were able to clean up all of the plastic bottle, food containers, and other debris on this hilly section of road in less than two hours! It coincided perfectly with Earth Day 2024’s theme of “Planet vs. Plastics”
The Benefits Of Adopting A Highway
We were pleased to learn that Adopt-A-Highway volunteers help MnDOT realize an estimated $7 million benefit each year.
Here are some other great things to know if you are considering starting a project like this in your community:
Any public or private group can register to volunteer – Community groups, churches, individuals or businesses adopt a highway by picking up litter on both sides of a road at least two times per year for at least two years.
There are many benefits to volunteering –
- Keeps roadsides beautiful and free of litter
- Public service project for groups and families
- Shows that Minnesotans care about their state
- Saves taxpayers money
There are different volunteering options you can apply for –
- Adopt a Highway or Rest Area: Volunteers sign agreement with MnDOT to adopt a section of state highway or designated rest area and commit to pick up litter at least twice a year.
- Pick a Highway: Pick a Highway is a one-time litter picking activity on an assigned segment of state highway.
The supplies are provided for you and your team –
What can your company do to help keep our environment sustainable?
MnDOT will provide bags, approved safety vests, training and bag retrieval. You contribute approximately four hours of labor. Contact an Adopt a Highway coordinator for details.
What Are You Doing To Better The Environment?
There are many ways that you and your employees can help to better the environment. You can take part in programs like Adopt-A-Highway. You can also do an internal audit of your businesses’ waste and recycling efforts to make sure you are operating as efficiently as possible, and with environmental stewardship in mind.
Whether its balers, compactors, or liquid extraction equipment, Harmony’s professional sales team can help you with a needs assessment or site review, even in these challenging times. Contact Us or call us at (507) 886-6666 and let us know how we can help today!
