Every year, many groups participate in the Adopt-A-Highway spring roadside cleanup, but some litter may be dangerous to pick up. Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt has made a video to increase awareness about roadside methamphetamine dump sites, which can be extremely hazardous to touch or approach. (Courtesy photo)

MARQUETTE — Melting snow exposes a winter’s worth of litter on roadsides and other areas, which mobilizes many residents to engage in highway cleanup through programs like the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program.

However, some of this litter shouldn’t be picked up by crews, as methamphetamine waste is sometimes thrown out on roadsides and is extremely dangerous to touch or approach.

Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt is working to spread awareness of the dangers of roadside methamepthamine waste and how to identify it through an informational video.

“People came up and they said … they were starting to find these meth dump sites on the side of the road … and someone said, ‘Can you tell us what to look for?'” Zyburt said.

This is what led Zyburt to consult the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement team, or UPSET, and make the informational video, produced by Tony Beres, owner of La Dolce Video & Design in Harvey.

The video outlines the types of litter that may be methamphetamine waste and how to deal with it if found.

According to the video, a combination of the following items may indicate a meth-dump site: plastic soda bottles and Gatorade bottles, pipe cutters, pliers, rubber tubing, funnels, coffee filters, Mason jars, glass bowls, masks, rubber gloves, sulfuric acid, salt, muriatic acid, tinfoil, water bottles, cold packs, spike fertilizer, lithium batteries, drain cleaners and cold medicine.

“If you see a Gatorade bottle by itself, don’t worry, but when you start seeing all these things together, then a red flag should come up,” Zyburt said.

If a combination of these items is found, do not touch them, as they can very dangerous and must be properly handled by authorities.

Methamphetamine-waste bottles can contain dangerous fumes that are under tremendous pressure, which can lead them to explode if touched or moved.

“If you find a combination of these, stop, don’t attempt to touch or move them, they can be highly explosive and cause serious bodily harm,” Zyburt says in the video.

Zyburt says that if a combination of these items is found, call 911 immediately and wait for an officer to arrive and assess the situation.

“We still encourage people to volunteer, but with some basic knowledge, you can stay safe while keeping our beautiful state of Michigan clean,” Zyburt says at the close of the video.

The video has reached people and agencies all over the state, as Zyburt presented it at a Michigan Sheriff’s Association meeting last fall.

Zyburt said that all 83 Michigan sheriffs, along with MDOT, felt the video was filling a major educational need.

According to MDOT, its Superior Region leadership also approved of the video and viewed it as a tool that could be very useful for students, maintenance forces, construction workers, surveyors and permit agents.

MDOT asked if it could use the video — Zyburt said “absolutely.”

The video was featured in the Spring 2018 Adopt-A-Highway newsletter and has also been made available to Adopt-A-Highway groups across Michigan through its website, as a recommended educational material for people who participate in roadway cleanup.

Zyburt is happy that the information has been able to reach across the state and hopes to continue raising awareness about how to identify and handle these dangerous methamphetamine dump sites on roadsides.

Spring pickup dates through the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program have been revised and will be held May 5-13 in the northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula.

To view the video, visit: https://vimeo.com/240236689?ref=em-v-share

For more information about Adopt-A-Highway, visit www.michigan.gov/mdot/ 0,4616,7-151-9621_11041_14408—,00.html

Cecilia Brown can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248.