Missouri DOT co-sponsors No MOre Trash! anti-litter campaign

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is co-sponsoring the No MOre Trash! anti-litter campaign April 15-May 15 along with the Department of Conservation.

“Litter is a big problem because it’s unattractive, costly, and harmful to the environment,” says Stacy Armstrong, MoDOT No MOre Trash! coordinator. “If more people would keep their trash and properly dispose of it, or, better yet, recycle it, we would reduce the amount of litter we need to pick up in the first place.”

Known as the annual Trash Bash, the campaign is designed to encourage Missourians to clean up litter from roadsides, parks, neighborhoods, rivers, streams and trails. The campaign also includes educational efforts in schools, community events and celebrations on Earth Day.

MoDOT spends roughly $6 million each year to remove litter from roadsides along 34,000 state highway miles. Volunteer efforts to remove trash are valued at $1 million each year. In 2015, 60,000 bags of litter and several truckloads of debris were picked up during the Trash Bash.

“Birds, fish, turtles and other animals get tangled in litter, such as plastic six-pack holders and fishing line, and it can kill them,” says Conservation Department No MOre Trash! Coordinator Joe Jerek. “Litter poisons fish, birds and other wildlife and can cost a litterer up to $1,000 in fines and one year in jail.”

The campaign is seeking volunteers from across the state, and participants can report their cleanup efforts and receive a thank you No MOre Trash! pin. More information is available at www.nomoretrash.org.