Missouri public, private and home-school students in grades K-8 are invited to help in the fight against litter in the Show-Me State - and to have creative and educational fun - by participating in the 2014 "Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter-Free" trash-can-decorating contest.
The annual trash-can contest encourages school classes and groups to join in the fight against litter by decorating and displaying a large trash can with the "No MOre Trash!" logo and a litter-prevention message using a variety of creative media.
The annual contest is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) as part of the state's "No MOre Trash!" (NMT) statewide litter campaign. This partnership between MDC and MoDOT, along with thousands of volunteers, is working to prevent and reduce litter in Missouri through education, prevention, and cleanup activities.
"In addition to teaching kids about how litter hurts them, their communities, and their environment, the contest gives students an opportunity to help prevent littering by creating and providing a trash can with the No MOre Trash! message in their schools or communities," says MoDOT NMT coordinator Stacy Armstrong.
Schools may submit one entry in each competition category: K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Entries are judged based on creativity, adherence to contest rules and effective use of theme and logo. First-place winners from each competition category receive $200 awarded to the sponsoring schools. All first-place winners are then eligible for a grand prize of a trophy and $600 awarded to the sponsoring school.
There is no entry fee for the contest. Participating school groups must submit a completed entry form online and up to three photos to www.nomoretrash.org by March 14. Contest rules, entry forms, logo, past contest entries and winners, and educational information can also be found at www.nomoretrash.org.
Southwest Livingston County R-1, Littlejohn Homeschool in West Plains and Cowgill R-VI Elementary were winners of the 2013 contest. They were among 18 Missouri elementary and middle schools and almost 200 students who helped fight litter by participating in the annual contest.