The Oklahoma Department of Transportation recently recognized 14 students from across the state for their winning entries in an annual statewide anti-littering art contest. View the winning posters by clicking here.
[Above image via the Oklahoma DOT]
The winning entries in this year’s event – which is open to kindergarten through 12th-grade students – will be featured in the state’s 2023 annual Trash Poster Contest calendar, which Oklahoma DOT and its partners will provide free of charge for as long as supplies last.
The agency said it received 4,635 posters in the 2022 contest, with the 14 contest winners slated to receive a monetary award, T-shirt, contest certificate, poster board, and laminated copy of their poster, sponsor promotional items and a state legislative citation of congratulations.
The teachers of the winning students will receive a monetary award for classroom supplies and a two-day stay voucher to an Oklahoma state park courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.
“There were so many creative and passionate entries this year; it is reassuring that our younger citizens want to take such an active role in improving the environment. Their work continues to inspire us in our mission to end littering across Oklahoma,” noted Melody Johnson, Oklahoma DOT beautification coordinator, in a statement.
“County and state judges were very impressed with the artwork and thank the students and teachers for participating and allowing this important public education effort into their classrooms,” she added.
Johnson noted that her agency 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 remove trash from its toll roads.
Those totals do not include the hundreds of volunteer hours spent fighting litter across the state through events like Oklahoma DOT’s annual “TRASH-OFF” and the national “Great American Cleanup,” sponsored by Keep Oklahoma Beautiful.
The agency plans to accept entries for the 2023 anti-littering art contest from December 1, 2022, through January 31, 2023.
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