Every year, Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off volunteers uncover random — and sometimes strange — items discarded on Texas roads.
This year, Don’t Mess with Texas is asking volunteers to take pictures of their unusual trash finds and e-mail their photos to Don’t Mess with Texas, where they’ll be displayed in a photo gallery on www.dontmesswithtexas.org.
The photo collection will be visual documentation of an embarrassing problem: Texas roadside litter.
Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off volunteers can send in interesting photos of their group collecting trash, the most common type of trash they pick up, or the weirdest litter they come across on April 10 — the largest one-day statewide cleanup in the United States.
Anyone who submits a photo by April 24 has the chance to receive a Don’t Mess with Texas prize pack —three prize packs will be awarded via a random selection process.
“This is a fun, creative way for our volunteers to share their Trash-Off experience with Texas,” said Doris Howdeshell, Travel Information Division Director for TxDOT. “It will be interesting to see all the photos from Trash-Off events around the state showcasing the efforts of our volunteers. We appreciate all they do to keep our roadways litter-free.”
To enter, volunteers simply e-mail the photo, location where it was taken, and photo caption to trashoff@dontmesswithtexas.org. Additional details are available at dontmesswithtexas.org. Photos from across the state will be shown in an online gallery on the Don’t Mess with Texas Facebook page and on dontmesswithtexas.org.
To participate in the Trash-Off on April 10, volunteers need to sign up now. The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off is a partnership between the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB). The event brings together KTB volunteers and Adopt-a-Highway groups from across the state to clean up roadways and their communities on one designated day. The public can sign up online at www.ktb.org or call 1-800-CLEAN-TX.
At the 2009 Trash-Off, more than 25,200 bags of trash were collected, totaling more than 158 tons of waste.
About Don’t Mess with Texas
Don’t Mess with Texas has been educating Texans about litter prevention since 1986. TxDOT’s litter prevention program includes Adopt-a-Highway and a grassroots partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful. Don’t Mess with Texas activities include Trash-Off, community outreach, a student litter prevention contest and a corporate partner program. For more information, visit www.dontmesswithtexas.org. TxDOT’s goals are to reduce congestion, enhance safety, expand economic opportunity, improve air quality and increase the value of transportation assets. For more information, visit www.txdot.gov.
