Thank you to the following Annual Trash Contest Sponsors:

• Oklahoma Department Of Transportation
• Oklahoma Department Of Environmental Quality
• Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department – State Parks
• Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
  
• Cherokee Nation
• Oklahoma’s Credit Union
• OG&E
• OMES – Web Modernization
• 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

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 the Oklahoma Senate at the State Capitol that same day. All state winners and their teachers receive proper notification before the awards event.

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.  

Another winning poster is selected as the TPC Promotional Poster of the Year. When available, a few weeks after the awards ceremony in April 2025, you can download the 2025 - 2026 poster by clicking or tapping here. The Promotional Poster of the Year and an entry form showing an additionally selected poster are included in each printed calendar.

The contest begins annually on December 1st.
The contest ends annually on January 31st.

Here’s a chance to show artistic, imaginative, and creative talent with an 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 herewith (it may be photocopied). All poster entries must be submitted by the Contest Deadline, January 31, 2026, to your local county Department of Environmental Quality Office. Oklahoma DEQ Locations.

County winners placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in February receive certificates, and those posters are submitted to state judging. State winners will be notified in March and honored at a mid-April Awards Event in Oklahoma City. State winners receive a cash prize, a poster design T-shirt, recognition at the State Capitol by the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate, and a Legislative Award Citation. State-winning posters will build the upcoming 2027 Trash Poster Calendar.

We would like to give special thanks to the ODEQ County Judges, County Sponsors, other County Judges.

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.

State Beautification Coordinator Melody Johnson (ODOT) is the Contest Visionary Chair and Statewide Coordinator in partnership with the following representatives from their respective agencies or organizations:

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, for the “Promotional Poster of the Year”, and for the Entry Form Poster. State winners will also 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.