Don’t Mess With Texas; everyone knows the phrase and it’s been around since 1986. It has taught everyone to take care of the Lone Star State.

"I think this is the most beautiful state anywhere and I hate it when I see people throwing trash out," said Sandy Hill, President of Keeping Van Alstyne Beautiful.

Sandy Hill joined 100,000 people across the state in collecting garbage off the highways and from people’s homes.

"Don’t mess with Texas day is a great day in our state because it means we're gonna do something about cleaning this state up," said Hill.

In Grayson County, workers collected garbage around 1417 and filling a large amount of bags throughout the morning. In Van Alstyne, city leaders took a different approach they invited everyone to their recycling center downtown continuing a tradition they started last year.

"It’s environmentally advantageous to recycle everywhere and that’s what we're trying to do here," said Van Alstyne Mayor Mike Parker.

Van Alstyne mayor mike parker says the city spends 250 to 300 dollars a month to maintain its recycling program. A program they feel is vital for the future of the county.

"If we didn't have this, it would be lying on the side of the road somewhere on a county road so it’s a win, win situation," said Parker.

But lately that hasn't been the case. The number of groups that adopt highways in the state has dipped from 4,000 to 3,700. State officials don’t know why, but Hill wants those numbers to change starting now.

"I'm not fanatic about it, but I think we need to start paying attention to how we're not taking care of things and teach our children to do a better job than we've done," said Hill.