Beautifying Indy’s Busiest Roads

By: Nicole Hornyak

For almost 50 years, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful has worked in partnership with the City of Indianapolis and dedicated volunteers to keep litter off the streets in neighborhoods across the city. A persistent problem has been all the litter on our busiest roads where multiple lanes of traffic and fast driving make litter removal difficult. A grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. has enabled KIB to expand its work over the past few years to reach these difficult stretches and make a huge impact on keeping our city cleaner for everyone.  

As we start on our third year of our Clean Team litter crew, a partnership between Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and Keys2Work, we are proud to share the remarkable impact this program has had on our city. Not only has it significantly reduced litter along Indianapolis’s busy roads, but it has also provided meaningful employment opportunities for individuals transitioning from the criminal justice system and/or homelessness. 

Since the program’s inception in 2023, 33 individuals have been employed through this initiative. Many of our crew members have continued in their roles for over a year, demonstrating the program’s stability and positive influence on their lives. Our standard crew size consists of two teams of five people each, working 40 hours per week. Each team includes two drivers and three additional members. When additional funding has been available, Keys2Work has been able to expand the crew by up to five more individuals, amplifying the impact of their work. 

In 2024 alone, the Clean Team collected over 97,000 pounds of litter from 22 of the city’s most littered roads. This impressive effort covered more than 850 miles of roadways, showcasing the crew’s dedication and hard work in all but the coldest weather. When combined with the litter collected in 2023, the crew has removed a total of over 161,000 pounds (or over 80 tons) of litter and dumped materials from Indianapolis’s roads since the program began. 

While each road we worked along in 2024 had a significant amount of litter present, we collected the most litter from 38th St., which is cleaned all the way across Marion County. We collected more than 16,200 pounds of litter from 38th Street alone this year. Other notable thoroughfares include Raymond St., which produced more than 8,300 pounds of litter, and nearly 7,000 pounds from both 21st St. and Shadeland Ave. 

Because some road segments we focus on are longer than others, we also calculated the average pounds of litter collected per mile. While 38^th St. had the most litter overall, it was only average in terms of litter per mile. Rural St. was the most littered road per mile, producing more than 2,000 pounds per mile and Kentucky Ave. had almost 1,700 pounds per mile this year. 

We are intentionally focusing this effort on busy thoroughfares, and needed to purchase safety equipment, including a merge arrow board to keep fast driving cars safely away from our work crews. Despite that investment, some roads are still far too busy, with drivers speeding far above posted speed limits, which makes cleanup efforts even more dangerous. To address significant litter along Binford Boulevard, we did a special partnership with Binford Redevelopment & Growth (BRAG) and we hired an IMPD officer with a police vehicle to help direct traffic around the area where the crew was working between 65th Street and 71st Street. 

Other efforts have included cleaning up our waterways. Indianapolis, like most cities, has approximately 50 percent of all its litter along the waterways. Much of this litter originates on our streets and sidewalks and washes down the storm drains. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of illegal dumping activities where someone with a full pickup truck will drive down to the water and throw it all along the riverside. One of our big efforts last year was a targeted cleanup of an illegal dump site along Little Eagle Creek, just off Cossell Road on the west side of Indianapolis. This effort further demonstrates our commitment to making a positive impact in the neighborhoods that need it the most. 

Looking ahead to 2025, we plan to continue working along the same thoroughfares in our regular rotation, ensuring that we focus on areas most in need of these efforts. Additionally, BRAG and KIB intend to hold five cleanups along Binford Boulevard to address litter along that thoroughfare, with traffic assistance from an off-duty IMPD officer. 

We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and hard work of our Clean Team crew members. The success of this partnership is a testament to the power of community collaboration and the importance of providing second chances. We look forward to continuing this impactful work and making Indianapolis a cleaner, more beautiful place for everyone. Thank you to all the crew members and supporters who make this program possible! 

Categories: Busy Roads and Waterways, Clean Neighborhoods, Partners, Research & Data