AASHTO Journal - NMDOT Helps Support Statewide Beautification Campaign

Three New Mexican state agencies – the New Mexico Department of Transportation, New Mexico Department of Tourism, and New Mexico Department of the Environment – recently awarded a total of $4.7 million in grants to 97 local entities to support litter removal and community cleanup projects as part of a new state beautification campaign.

[Above photo via the New Mexico Governor’s Office]

The “Breaking Bad Habits” campaign seeks to encourage state residents to preserve New Mexico’s “unparalleled landscape” by removing litter, preventing illegal dumping, and other related efforts. Public outreach for this campaign is accompanied by public service announcements by Emmy Award-winning actor Bryan Cranston, reprising his iconic role as Walter White from the “Breaking Bad’ cable television series, to encourage state residents to “break bad habits” and keep the state clean.

“New Mexico is the most beautiful state in the nation and it’s time for all of us to commit to ‘Breaking Bad Habits’ of littering and trashing our state,” noted Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in a statement. “These grants will play a vital role in our push to eliminate litter and protecting our state’s spectacular beauty.”

As part of this campaign, the NMDOT has launched the ¿Que Linda? Beautification Initiative; providing $2 million in grants to 14 local governments to help fund litter reduction, community cleanups, educational outreach programs, and other beautification efforts – with funding for a full-time program coordinator to oversee those efforts initiatives.

Other state departments of transportation across the country are engaged in similar efforts.

For example, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Nobody Trashes Tennessee recently launched the fourth annual No Trash November month-long statewide litter cleanup effort.

In partnership with Keep Tennessee Beautiful, Adopt-A-Highway participants, and youth groups including Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts, the initiative encourages residents to join existing public events or host their own community cleanup during the month of November.

Groups that collect the most litter will be recognized in four categories: Keep Tennessee Beautiful Affiliate, Adopt-A-Highway Group, Youth Group, and River Group. Participating scout groups will also earn a Nobody Trashes Tennessee patch as well, the agency noted.

“Litter on our public roads, including our state’s scenic byways and waterways, have detrimental impacts on safety, the environment, and the economy, while also detracting from Tennessee’s natural beauty,” said Butch Eley, deputy governor and Tennessee DOT commissioner, in a statement.

“We want to keep our residents and travelers safe from the harmful effects of litter, especially with increased travel during the holiday season,” he said. “No Trash November offers an entire month for the Volunteer State to come together and make a real impact.”