FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2019
PR# 19-010
Spring forward to help keep Oklahoma looking grand. The 31st annual TRASH-OFF is open for registration.
As part of the national Great American Cleanup event, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Keep Oklahoma Beautiful are partnering to present TRASH-OFF which is a part of ODOT’s efforts to rally volunteers to eliminate litter on the state highways.
The Great American Cleanup is open to all communities and volunteers through May 31, while TRASH-OFF is a statewide all-day event on April 20. Last year, more than 40,000 volunteers joined together over a three-month period to pick up litter and clean areas in their communities.
To register for the Great American Cleanup and TRASH-OFF, groups, counties and individuals can join online at www.keepoklahomabeautiful.com or call 405-286-9141.
“Each year we have volunteers join forces to keep their communities beautiful,” ODOT Beautification coordinator Melody Johnson said. “It amazes me every year the pride shown through each community as they push to keep our state free of litter.”
Supplies and promotional items will be provided by Keep Oklahoma Beautiful to registered TRASH-OFF participants. The items include trash bags provided with assistance from American Waste Control Inc., Waste Connections and Waste Management; gloves and safety vests from Warren CAT, ODOT and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority; water from PepsiCo and much more.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation distributes supplies to each county maintenance yards where they may be picked up by volunteer groups.
In 2018, Oklahoma’s Great American Cleanup included community events throughout the state. Volunteers in all 77 counties were able to clean more than 2,000 miles of public roads, removing more than 2.7 million pounds of litter. As events like this continue across the state, it makes an impact on keeping the state looking grand. Each year, litter continues to be a struggle with the department alone spending more than $5 million a year on removing trash from highways.
The efforts of ODOT and KOB have been so successful that ODOT received national recognition from Keep America Beautiful and the U.S. Department of Transportation for the past five consecutive years.
Oklahoma’s Great American Cleanup is sponsored by ODOT, Keep Oklahoma Beautiful, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, OGE Energy Corp., Warren CAT, P&K Equipment, PepsiCo, American Waste Control Inc., Waste Connections and Waste Management.
Participants pick up litter in the 2018 Great American Cleanup.
(Editors and News Directors: For questions, please call the ODOT Media & Public Relations Division at 405-521-6000.)
