above: First Place 9th – 12th Grade: Brock Bailey, 11th Grade, Collinsville
10/26/2020 – Fourteen Oklahoma students will be highlighted in 2021 for their anti-littering art. Each student used their artistic skills to highlight the consequences of littering by entering an original piece of art in the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s annual Trash Poster Contest. From cats to alpacas to dragons, there were no limits on the creativity shown by kindergarten through 12th-grade students who paired anti-litter puns and slogans with their art.
More than 6,100 posters were entered this year for the 2021 calendar and ODOT and its partners recently honored the 14 winners with several prizes. Each received a certificate, a tote-bag, a T-shirt with their design, and a cash prize, funded through donations. Additionally, the students’ sponsoring teachers were awarded a voucher for classroom art supplies and a voucher for a two-night stay at select Oklahoma state parks.
“We had so many great poster entries that illustrate possible solutions to litter abatement and environmental concerns,” said Melody Johnson, ODOT beautification coordinator. “County and state judges were very impressed with all the awesome artwork, creativity and forethought put into every poster entered. We also want to thank participating teachers who are including this important public education effort in their curriculum.”
The 2021 Trash Poster calendar will be available for free while supplies last and will be distributed to state agencies, businesses and schools statewide in December. The Promotional Poster of the Year will be printed in large format for the public to use in displays, newsletters, and for promotional use to help spread the word that litter is harmful to our state and needs to stop. Another winning poster will be featured on the 2021 entry form.
The department spends nearly $6 million in taxpayer dollars annually to combat litter along state highways and interstates while the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority spends $1.5 million annually to clean along turnpikes. Those totals do not include the hundreds of volunteer hours put toward fighting litter across the state through events like ODOT’s annual TRASH-OFF and the national Great American Cleanup, sponsored by Keep Oklahoma Beautiful.
The contest sponsors include Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, Oklahoma’s Credit Union, OG&E, Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department-Oklahoma State Parks, Keep Oklahoma Beautiful, Ardmore Beautification Council, Oklahoma Rural Water Association, Solid Waste Institute of Northeast Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Department of Education, Oklahoma City Beautiful, Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office.
Next year’s contest begins Dec.1, 2020, and has a Jan. 31, 2021, deadline to enter posters to local DEQ offices. For more information about the contest and entry rules, go online to www.odot.org/tpc or contact the ODOT Beautification Office at 405-521-2557 or email beautification@ODOT.org.
The winning posters may be viewed online at www.odot.org/tpc
The state winners are:
Kindergarten – 2nd Grade:
- First Place: Riley Tunnell-Burns, 2nd Grade, Idabel
- Second Place: Chasen Vann, 2nd Grade, Stilwell
- Third Place: Callie Oglesbee, 1st Grade, Tuttle
3rd – 5th Grade:
- First Place: Brynn Hamill, 3rd Grade, Edmond
- Second Place: Sophie Buchanan, 3rd Grade, Newalla
- Third Place: SadieLynn Bundy, 5th Grade, Idabel
6th – 8th Grade:
- First Place: Emmalily Cranford, 8th Grade, Harrah
- Second Place: Madilynn Barger, 8th Grade, Lookeba
- Third Place: Danielle Brunner, 8th Grade, Blanchard
9th – 12th Grade:
- First Place: Brock Bailey, 11th Grade, Collinsville
- Second Place: Katie Williams, 12th Grade, Pocola
- Third Place: Destiny Taft-McCall, 11th Grade, Guthrie
PROMOTIONAL POSTER OF THE YEAR
- Kylie Castonguay, 8th Grade, Lone Grove
ENTRY FORM POSTER FOR 2021
- Holly Cole, 10th Grade, Midwest City
