Nobody Trashes Tennessee and TSSAA recognize students and schools making an impact towards litter prevention with scholarships, prizes, and beautification project donations

Link to hi-res images and additional photos from Tullahoma High School and Henry County High School

Link to winner announcement video

NASHVILLE Tenn. – Dec. 14, 2021 – Nobody Trashes Tennessee, the state’s litter prevention campaign managed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), teamed up last month with Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) for the No Trash November Student Video Contest.

The contest was part of No Trash November, a statewide litter cleanup and awareness initiative responsible for removing 46,067 pounds of litter across the state through cleanup events held by Keep Tennessee Beautiful affiliates and Adopt-A-Highway groups. “The student video contest allowed us to engage middle and high school students during the first-ever No Trash November initiative,” said Denise Baker, transportation program supervisor, TDOT Highway Beautification Office. “Changing littering behavior through student leadership and modeling is an important part of our education efforts. While most children and young adults know that littering is wrong, we aim to educate them on the full extent of litter’s impact on roadway safety, our waterways, and on wildlife.”

Students were encouraged to share a PSA-style video about why it’s important to keep Tennessee litter-free for the chance to win a scholarship, iPad, or a donation to their school. “We received a total of 55 student entries from 13 participating schools,” said Baker. “There were so many creative submissions making it a challenge for our judges to select only one top video for high school and one for middle school.”

Homelife Academy middle school student Cash Daniels received an iPad for producing the most creative video, and Henry County High School student Braden Denman is the winner of a $1,000 scholarship.
Beautification donations to the high schools with the most entries are Blackman High School ($500), Tullahoma High School ($250), and Henry High School ($250). Middle school donations include Page Middle School ($500), Cleveland Middle School ($300), and Halls Junior High School ($200).

Learn more about the state’s litter reduction and education efforts and how to join the movement to end littering at NobodyTrashesTennessee.com. Two ways to get involved include the Adopt-A-Highway Program and reporting littering incidents through the Tennessee Litter Hotline (1-877-8LITTER). Join the conversation at facebook.com/nobodytrashesTN, instagram.com/nobodytrashestn, twitter.com/NobodyTrashesTN. Follow on TikTok @nobodytrashestennessee.

About Nobody Trashes Tennessee
Nobody Trashes Tennessee (NTT) is the State of Tennessee’s official litter prevention campaign managed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). The campaign is rooted in research conducted by TDOT in 2016, including a “Visible Litter Study” that revealed that despite a drop of 53 percent in roadside trash between 2006 and 2016, there are still 100 million pieces of litter on the state’s roadways at any given time. TDOT spends $19 million annually on litter pickup and prevention education, funded by a tax on soft drink and malt beverages. Through a collaborative statewide approach, the TDOT Highway Beautification Office’s Litter Grant Program is responsible for removing an average of 11,573 tons of litter each year from all 95 counties in Tennessee. In 2020 alone, and despite COVID restrictions, county partners removed more than 21 million pounds of litter from 450,362 miles of Tennessee roadways. Thirty-seven percent of that statewide total was recycled. Additionally, 4,023 illegal roadside dumps were cleaned up, an increase of nearly 400 dump sites over the previous year—View TDOT’s 2020 Annual Litter Grant Report for more information. Learn more about the state’s litter reduction and education efforts and how to join the movement to reduce littering at NobodyTrashesTennessee.com. Two ways to get involved include the Adopt-A-Highway Program and reporting littering incidents through the Tennessee Litter Hotline (1-877-8LITTER).