yellow bags<\/a>\u00a0available from DOT\/PF and began using them,\u201d Clemens said. \u201cSince they were periodically picked up by maintenance and operations staff most mornings.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b9707e_0f6b85f783dd4d31afd015540fb79fcb~mv2.jpeg\")
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Mike Clemens, 78, works his “Dawn Patrol” along Egan Drive on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Klas Stolpe \/ Juneau Independent)<\/p>\n
Clemens\u2019 habit of picking up stuff goes way back.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a kid spending summers with my maternal grandma on a farm outside Naselle, Washington, I made money by picking up bottles tossed out of cars along the highway near an adjacent tavern,\u201d he said. \u201cHelping my older brother with his Sunday morning Oregonian paper route put me out on the streets early where you found stuff by looking down\u2026I have always disliked litter and if in a position to remove it, would pick it up and deposit it in the nearest garbage can. In recent years, the desire to recycle cans and bottles made sense to me, since people often throw them out of their vehicles. It seems a shame to have trash along our highways when tourists come to see nature\u2019s beauty. Back when driving around the Lower 48 years ago, it was common to see roadside trash; why couldn\u2019t Juneau\u2019s main roads be cleaner?\u201d<\/p>\n
Clemens, who retired from \u201cadministrative work with the state in 2004, unrelated to trash,\u201d became a hardcore trash remover when the 2017 Year of Kindness (YOK) was initiated by now-retired Juneau Police Department Lt. Kris Sell. Clemens had been focusing more on Riverside Drive and the Mendenhall Loop Road, the heavily traveled paths of tour buses on their way to the glacier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I had been working some mornings prior to that, but the areawide emphasis helped me realize that clean-up efforts matter,\u201d he said. \u201cFor several years (roughly 2017-2021), I worked early mornings during the longest days when Egan Drive traffic is almost non-existent to make it safer for me in the median strip…For a couple years I stopped, but then did some \u2018patrols\u2019 in 2025 and resumed this year\u2026I remember one time when I almost caused an accident, which made me take a break from patrols.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b9707e_ab6ee6a096d4494da7fa85ede47556cd~mv2.jpeg\")
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A drop point for a Michael Clemens “Dawn Patrol” on May 5, 2026. (Photo courtesy Michael Clemens)<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just one person and cannot handle large areas all by myself,\u201d he said. \u201cThus, I try to supplement and complement efforts of groups working to raise funds or provide community service due to various requirements\u2026Sometimes, big messes will get my attention, and I\u2019ll stop to tackle them, if possible, when there\u2019s no traffic on Egan Drive, since some places don\u2019t have room to pull off the roadway. Thus, a quick stop is only safe when there\u2019s no traffic headed in the direction I\u2019m working.\u201d<\/p>\n
On this particular morning, the back of his silver 2007 Subaru Forester, his base of operations, is parked on one of several safe spots along Egan\u2019s median, where he sorts his gatherings into the yellow ALPAR bags for state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities workers to pick up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey fit nicely into a former kitchen garbage container I use along the roadside,\u201d Clemens said. \u201cOver time, it dawned on me that having a place to deposit my bags and other stuff in one place would be best, and the pull-off on outbound Egan Drive at the McNugget intersection works. Due to the traffic lights, it creates a safe area for me to pull back into traffic and allows the DOT\/PF workers a relatively safe place to park as they pick up what I\u2019ve deposited over days. At times, when pulling over for a short stop, I\u2019ll activate my vehicle\u2019s hazard lights for visibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Juneau Independent asked Clemens a series of questions to be answered at his leisure.<\/p>\n
Q: What areas do you concentrate on?<\/p>\n
A: From their bus seats, tourists have plenty to see while driving in from their cruise ship docks, but in some places, the only things they see are roadside areas, which ideally should be relatively clean. Egan Drive between Loop Road and Fred Meyer seems to have lots of trash, so I would often start there, depending on the level of trash in other areas. Gradually working toward town, I would concentrate on the worst areas and stop for the biggest messes, like plastic packaging\u2026DOT\/PF used to mow the Egan Drive median a couple of times each summer so I would try to patrol before they mowed trash into little pieces, which of course are much harder to pick up. With all the deep gashes in the Egan Drive median strip, I imagine that mowing will be tougher this year. The mowing equipment can be damaged by solid metal trash that ends up in the grass.<\/p>\n
Q: What interesting treasures or disgusting things have you found?<\/p>\n
A: Money (mostly $1s, but up to $50 bills), tools, knives, driver\u2019s licenses, wallets with cash, IDs, credit cards, parking permits, and even the apparent results of a Switzer Creek Trailer Park burglary (several personal items were clustered as if they were tossed out the window while driving outbound Egan, so I arranged to return them). I would turn in driver\u2019s licenses and wallets to JPD, including an Oregon wallet with $42 in cash in August 2024\u2026Years ago, working Riverside Drive, I would routinely find an empty pint glass bottle of the same brand of liquor, as if the consumer had a recurring habit of tossing it out before they turned into their subdivision where their home was located. This person was a serial litterbug\u2026.Damaged electronics (e.g. iPads, smartphones) end up at Dan\u2019s Recycling instead of garbage\u2026Dead deer and porcupines sadden me, since they were hit when trying to cross Egan Drive.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b9707e_f29f53562ab148fb806ea6f1a6ad2094~mv2.jpeg\")
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A large amount of unopened orange earplugs found on Egan Drive during a “Dawn Patrol” are shown in the back of Mike Clemens’ Subaru. (Photo courtesy Michael Clemens)<\/p>\n
A: There are basically three types of material that end up along roads: 1) items tossed out on purpose (like beverage containers), 2) items that accidentally \u201cfell off a truck\u201d so to speak, and 3) vehicle stuff. Fender benders result in lots of broken plastic car parts that end up in the median or outside the guardrail and would be chewed up by the industrial mowers used by DOT\/PF. In the past, I\u2019ve seen the results, for example, of a Home Depot orange bucket shredded into pieces. Wiper blades and wheel weights end up in the median and near the guardrails\u2026Most beverage containers can be recycled, except for paper cups. But empties are sometimes accompanied by full bottles or cans that presumably were tossed out by accident. Empty cigarette packages are common, but almost full packages are clearly tossed out by accident\u2026.Convenience food packaging ends up tossed out along with, surprisingly, medical gloves\u2026Items that accidentally fall off a truck include lumber and items that are en route (to) the local landfill. Once last year, I encountered an industrial-sized box of orange earplugs along with some electrical sleeves that appeared in the Egan Drive outbound median near the seasonal speed limit sign. My recycling contact was able to repurpose such items; he knows people who know people.<\/p>\n
Q: What does the debris amount tell you about people?<\/p>\n
A: As an amateur roadside anthropologist, I\u2019ve kept no long-term statistics about trash I\u2019ve gathered and make no conclusions. If it were allowed to accumulate throughout a full season, some items would become self-evident, like where trash comes off vehicles as they pull onto Egan Drive from slower speeds on side roads. Thus, predictable piles would accumulate in certain areas.<\/p>\n
A: My preferred containers are two square buckets that I carry in one hand, which allows my other hand to use my green Nifty Nabber purchased from Western Auto, which sells two sizes (I have both). Further, I have a long claw that allows me to grab plastic blown into water-filled areas adjacent to some parts of Egan Drive. Climbing over the guardrails is becoming more challenging, so I will just grab what I can reach. The water sides of Egan Drive often accumulates trash I cannot reach, so later in the season, I work that side of the guardrail so I don\u2019t have to climb over and can stay on the safe side of the guardrail, critical during traffic.<\/p>\n
A: High visibility orange is my preferred color (Oregon State) rather than fluorescent green (Oregon), so I have a hard hat, heavy jacket, raincoat and lightweight vest to try to be seen by drivers. In the colder weather, I start off with the jacket and then shift to the vest once I get warm enough, and then sometimes switch back when the wind comes up to cool me off. Footwear is critical, since moving along the median and down steep slopes can be challenging, but when I\u2019m patrolling flatter areas, regular low-cut shoes provide adequate support. Gloves get wet, so I carry several pairs and often wear two kinds at the same time to keep my hands warm. As the day gets warmer, I partially unzip my coveralls to keep from overheating, a major cause of fatigue.<\/p>\n
A: Aluminum, plastic and glass containers are often tossed out car windows. I group them together during pickup, and then clean and separate them for recycling. Many bottles, for example, have their lids on which should be removed before depositing at the Recycling Center, which also wants clean items, so I try to clean what I deposit and throw away dirty items. Since I recycle for some friends, it\u2019s just another trip to the Recycling Center when headed to Costco.<\/p>\n
A: Daylight is the obvious factor, since I need to be seen on Egan Drive to be safe, and fog is the most dangerous condition, since some drivers don\u2019t use their headlights in fog, when low beams would work fine. Cars going by create wind, which cools me off and keeps bugs away later in the season. Bugs can be so bad near the wetlands that I won\u2019t work in that area.<\/p>\n
A: Since I turn 80 at the end of next year, I\u2019m often running low on energy and need to take a day off or quit earlier than I might like. Generally, I like to be off Egan and leaving that day\u2019s bags at the McNugget intersection pulloff by about 6:30 or before. So when the days are longest, that gives me three full hours to work, but sometimes the energy level is just not there. But since one purpose of my picking up trash is to improve my physical health, I try to keep pushing my level of effort as I approach the \u201cuse it or lose it\u201d stage of life. Physical exercise, I\u2019m told, will also combat the brain fog that happens more with greater frequency as I age.<\/p>\n
Q: What about fish and wildlife?<\/p>\n
A: I don\u2019t handle dead critters, birds or fish, and have encountered quite a few as well as their live cousins (black bears, deer, porcupines, eagles and fish, in season). When I see a dead deer, I\u2019ve called JPD before since I think they coordinate with someone to pick them up.<\/p>\n
Q: Final thoughts for Juneau residents?<\/p>\n
A: Please carry litter bags in your vehicle rather than toss things out the window and having your headlights on will help your vehicle be seen in the early morning hours. If you\u2019re taking material to the local landfill, ensure that nothing will fly off into traffic or end up on the roadside\u2026If you happen to be a walker, think about carrying a plastic bag to collect trash you encounter, since every litter bit helps. But when you do find trash, if you don\u2019t have a grabber of some sort to extend your reach, bend down using your legs, not your back.<\/p>\n
![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b9707e_0ffbe92aff5349bc96b9efe0b74f6e3e~mv2.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Mike Clemens, 78, works his “Dawn Patrol” along Egan Drive on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Klas Stolpe \/ Juneau Independent)<\/p>\n
![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b9707e_0e2ad1e129754e88b81ee30d0290baf4~mv2.jpeg\")
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Mike Clemens, 78, works his “Dawn Patrol” along Egan Drive on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Klas Stolpe \/ Juneau Independent)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Clemens picks up after daily commuters Mike Clemens, 78, works his “Dawn Patrol” along Egan Drive on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-644076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b9707e_87719eeceeb44422b985989018433638~mv2.jpeg\")
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