Are you tired of seeing litter along N.C. roadsides? Do you cringe when you see someone throw trash out a car window?

If so, then join the N.C. Department of Transport-ation's (NCDOT) spring Litter Sweep to help fight litter in our state!

Litter Sweep is under way through April 28, and volunteers are encouraged to clean up North Carolina roadsides. Volunteers were essential to the 2011 fall Litter Sweep, responsible for removing more than 1.7 million pounds of roadside litter.

"The NCDOT spring Litter Sweep is a great time for North Carolinians to get involved in community beautification," said Trans-portation Secretary Gene Conti. "It's an event that allows us all to work together, taking pride in the beauty of our state's roadsides."

Litter Sweep volunteers will be joined by NCDOT maintenance crews, Adopt-A-Highway groups, N.C. Department of Correction inmate crews and community service workers during spring Litter Sweep.

Additionally, the N.C. State Highway Patrol will be on alert and policing roads for motorists with unsecured loads and others that intentionally and unintentionally litter. Littering is an illegal offense.

Upon conviction, the defendant can be fined up to $2,000, receive a point on their driver's license and be sentenced to community service work.

Interested Litter Sweep volunteers should contact their local NCDOT county maintenance office to obtain cleanup supplies. Children between the ages of 12 and 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants are required to watch a safety video and wear safety gear. Volunteers are reminded that safety is always the number one priority when working on the roadside.