34th Annual Statewide Trash Poster Contest

Several thousand students enter the annual Statewide Trash Poster Contest (TPC), making poster judging very competitive and interesting! In addition to other prizes, 12 selected winning posters will be featured in 30,000 printed calendars this year.  

One additional winning poster is selected as the TPC Promotional Poster of the Year. The Promotional Poster of the Year and an entry form, showing an additionally selected poster, are included in each printed calendar.

TPC Contest information is first distributed to principals and superintendents in Oklahoma’s public, private, parochial, charter, tribal schools, known home schools, and correctional center facilities. Any Oklahoma school student from Kindergarten through 12th grade can enter this contest. Contest Calendars are then distributed to Oklahoma federal, state, city and county agencies, as well as libraries, municipalities, businesses, organizations, groups, and individuals statewide. A limited number of TPC Calendars are available for free to the public within the Continental United States only. To request copies while quantities last, email the ODOT Beautification Office at beautification@odot.org or call (405) 521-2557.

The Trash Poster Contest is organized by State Beautification Coordinator Melody Johnson – Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), and is coordinated in partnership with the following representatives from their respective agency or organization: Sara Ivey – Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), Rhonda Powell – Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA), Monique James - Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA), Priscilla Blackfox - Cherokee Nation (CN), Jeff Everett – OG&E (OG&E), Brandon Holcomb – Oklahoma’s Credit Union (OKCU), Jack Ripley - Office of Management & Enterprise Services (OMES), Sterling Zearley - Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department – State Parks (OTRD-SP), Evelyn Schaefer – Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB), Julie Maher - Ardmore Beautification Council (ABC), Lisa Synar – Oklahoma City Beautiful (OKCB), Bill Hix - Solid Waste Institute of Northeast Oklahoma (SWINO), Elizabeth Maughan – Oklahoma State Department of Education (SDE), Lindsey Farris – Oklahoma Department of Public Safety/Oklahoma Highway Patrol (DPS/OHP), and Amy Graham – Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO).

Here’s a chance to show artistic, imaginative, and creative talent with a ORIGINAL AND POSITIVE poster / slogan design about solutions for Oklahoma’s litter problems. Win CASH and help Oklahoma “KEEP OUR LAND GRAND!”

Complete the entire entry form (may be photocopied). All poster entries must be submitted by the contest deadline, January 31, 2025, to your local county Deptartment of Environmental Quality Office.

County winners placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in February receive certificates and those posters are submitted in to state judging. State winners will be notified in March and honored at a mid-April Awards Event in Oklahoma City. State winners each receive a cash prize, poster design T-shirt, recognition at the State Capitol by the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate, and a Legislative Award Citation. State winning posters will build the upcoming 2026 Trash Poster Calendar.

All students in Oklahoma's public, private, parochial, charter, tribal schools, known home schools, and correctional center facilities in grades K - 2, 3 - 5, 6 - 8, 9 - 12 may participate.

Local County Prizes: County judging by each county’s designated DEQ Office is completed during February. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place county winners will receive a certificate from DEQ and these posters will be submitted for state judging. Some local sponsors may also present other prizes, but those vary by county.

State Prizes: State judging is completed in early March. In mid-April, the 14 state winners are announced and honored at an Awards Event, and each will receive a substantial cash award for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in each grade division, and for the “Promotional Poster of the Year”, and for the Entry Form Poster. State winners will also will receive a State Contest Certificate, a t-shirt bearing their poster design, along with a mounted posterboard copy, and a laminated placemat. Teachers of the 14 state winners may receive vouchers (depending on availability) for a one-night stay at an Oklahoma State Park and contest vouchers to purchase classroom school art supplies. In addition, winning students and teachers will receive contest/sponsor promotional items at the April Awards Event.

State winners and teachers are honored at a mid-April Awards Event at the ODOT Building in Oklahoma City. The winning students are also introduced to the Oklahoma State House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate, at the State Capitol that same day. All state winners and their teachers receive proper notification prior to the awards event.

• OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
• OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
• OKLAHOMA TURNPIKE AUTHORITY
• CHEROKEE NATION
• OKLAHOMA’S CREDIT UNION
• OG&E
• OMES – WEB MODERNIZATION 
• OKLAHOMA TOURISM & RECREATION DEPARTMENT – STATE PARKS
• KEEP OKLAHOMA BEAUTIFUL
• ARDMORE BEAUTIFICATION COUNCIL
• OKLAHOMA CITY BEAUTIFUL
• OKLAHOMA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION
• SOLID WASTE INSTITUTE OF NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
• STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
• DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY / OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY PATROL
• OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY SAFETY OFFICE

"The mission of the Oklahoma Trash Poster Contest is to provide creative tools by bringing knowledge of pollution issues and promote litter awareness within Oklahoma’s schools and communities."