POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– Employees of the Simplot Don Plant took to their two-mile stretch of adopted Highway 30 on Wednesday to pick up trash in recognition of Earth Day.
Simplot adopted the stretch of road near the plant in 2005, and, since then, employee volunteers have tidied litter from the sides of the highway twice a year on dates scheduled near Earth Day in the spring and National Pollution Prevention Week in the fall.
“We care about our community, we care about the environment,” said Jesse King, environmental manager of the Don Plant. “Simplot is very much one for understanding and wanting to give back… that’s really what we’re about, is just giving back as much as we can at the end of the day–we’re here to serve the community, here to feed the world.”
On April 18, the Idaho Transportation Department recognized Simplot as the Adopt-A-Highway Group of the Year for their dedication to keeping their stretch of highway clean.
ITD said the 40 to 50 Simplot employee volunteers who come out to clean every year average around 1,600 pounds of trash picked up from their adopted piece of road annually.
“A lot of our employees that work for Simplot have a lot of pride in Simplot, but also it’s more about the community giving back–this is their chance to be able to give back,” said King.
