Tigard native is cleaning up highways, one at a time.

Gary Chamberlain is on a crusade to end litter along America’s highways.

Anyone driving along Highway 217 the past few weeks might have seen Chamberlain wearing his bright green reflective vest and carrying a large blue bag.

It may not seem like much, but Chamberlain is waging a one-man war against litter, picking up trash that flies out car windows or pickup truck beds.

Chamberlain splits his time between Tigard and his home in Arizona, where he has picked up hundreds of bags of trash along the side of interstates and highways.

The Tigard native has spent the last three-and-a-half years working to clean up America’s roads. Now, Chamberlain has set his sights on his hometown, and he is putting his money where his mouth is.

Working with local businesses, Chamberlain is offering cash to local groups willing to get dirty and pick up garbage.

Chamberlain is offering $5 a bag to anyone who goes out to pick up trash.

“You would be surprised how much litter is out there,” he says, standing near the Highway 217 off-ramp to Hall Boulevard. “I could spend a whole day just right here and probably fill 40 or 50 bags of trash. It’s disgusting.”

With that, Chamberlain produces a 33-gallon bag and using a long-handled stick begins to pick up pieces of discarded material.

The bag is filled to the brim in about 15 minutes. He finds beer cans, cardboard, paper, bags, pieces of wood, hunks of discarded concrete, insulation from a house and the remains of a recent car crash.

Chamberlain ties the bag closed, pulls out another one, and continues on.

“We send our troops all over the world to fight for the values of this country, then we crap up this country just like this,” he said.

He has found discarded road signs, a box of condoms, $100 bills and even old credit cards while cleaning up the side of the road.

“We need to start restoring the beauty to ‘America the Beautiful,’” he said, “or we’ll have to start calling it something else.”

‘Cursed with trash’

Chamberlain is passionate about his quest to end the world of litter. A casual conversation is stopped when he notices an empty soda can or bag drifting in the wind.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’ve got litter on the brain. I’m cursed with trash.”

Chamberlain is perhaps best known to people as the voice of the Tigard Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration for the past several years.

Chamberlain started his crusade after riding his bicycle in Arizona.

“You see it all,” he said. “Every bit of it.”

Chamberlain started a local group of volunteers he named Folksville USA that cleans up local highways.

“When people drive through your community, what do they see that will make them want to move there or vacation or buy a house or bring a business? Or do they just keep chugging on down the road.”

There’s inherent danger in what he’s doing. Cars zip past him at 60 miles per hour, but Chamberlain is unfazed. As he finishes up his second bag of trash, he spies a hunk of concrete lying near the off-ramp.

“That’s not something God planted here,” he said. “What happens when people swerve to avoid it, and there’s an accident?”

'Hoping other people get involved'

Chamberlain calls litter a “cancer” that has spread across the country.

He’s hoping that teaming up with local businesses will send the disease of litter into remission.

“I am hoping that other people get involved,” he said. “If we can get businesses involved, this could spread like an anti-cancer drug.”

Partnering with business, Chamberlain estimates he has made about $4,000 picking up trash in his spare time.

He’s still in the early stages with his Tigard program. But in Arizona, more than 80 businesses have pitched in, offering anywhere from $10 to $500 to the cause of cleaning up the road.

“There’s plenty of trash, if you want to work for it,” he said.

Don Hamilton, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, hailed Chamberlain’s conviction to clean up the highways.

“My inclination is to bless the guy, I think that’s wonderful,” Hamilton said. “If he’s willing to do it, that’s wonderful. We take prison inmates out and make them do that kind of work.”

Chamberlain said there are safety rules to follow: always wear bright reflective gear and keep an eye on approaching traffic.

As he picks up trash on the side on the off-ramp, a man in a large truck rolls down his window and hands Chamberlain some spare change.

“See? People are generally good hearted,” he said. “They’ll pay for a good thing if they see it.”

Any group interested can email Chamberlain at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.