KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Drivers leaving downtown Kansas City and traveling east on Interstate 70 over the past few days likely noticed a lot of trash in one area.

Anyone driving through the area between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday suddenly noticed white everywhere, except the whiteout wasn’t snow.

According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, a driver lost hundreds of plastic bags in the eastbound lanes of I-70 between 23rd Street and Van Brunt Boulevard.

The plastic bags flew everywhere, littering the highway, getting trapped in tree branches, and likely blowing through a nearby neighborhood.

Saturday, crews braved the wind and temperatures in the 20s to pick up the plastic.

MoDOT is already asking for volunteers to help clean up highways across the state. The department said the plastic bag issue just caused more work for its employees.

MoDOT expects to spend more than $9 million to remove litter from highways across the state in 2023.