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Jefferson City, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) congratulate Willard North Elementary in Willard, Logan-Rogersville Elementary in Rogersville, and St. Elizabeth R-IV in St. Elizabeth on winning the 2018 "Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter Free" trashcan-decorating contest.
MDC and MoDOT sponsor the contest as part of Missouri's "No MOre Trash!" campaign to raise awareness about litter and discourage littering. The contest encourages students from kindergarten through eighth grade to join the fight against litter by decorating and displaying a large trashcan with the "No MOre Trash!" logo and a litter prevention message using a variety of creative mediums.
The winning school from each of three competition grade categories (K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) receives a $200 award. First-place winners are then eligible for a $600 grand prize and a trophy. Entries are judged by a group of staff at MDC and MoDOT.
Congratulations to teacher Jessica Brown and her 13 third graders at Logan-Rogersville Elementary in Rogersville on winning the 3-5-Grade Category and the GRAND PRIZE for their “Stache the Trash” entry! The school will receive a check for $200 for the category win and $600 and a trophy as grand prize winners.
“The students came together to create this fun trash can for our school's lobby,” wrote Brown in their entry submission. “Several students have already been found searching the halls for litter just so they could use this can! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!”
Congratulations to teacher Felecia Creed and the 52 second graders at Willard North Elementary in Willard on winning the K-2 Category for their “Dog Gone It… Recycle!” entry. The school will receive a check for $200 for the category win.
“Students learned about being productive citizens within the community,” wrote Creed in their entry submission. “We learned about important people that help keep our community safe. This project allowed us to extend that unit by creating the recycling can from repurposed materials to be used and displayed at our main location for the Willard Fire Department. Going with the theme of a fire station, students created a recycling can that resembled a fire hydrant, and a Dalmatian. Students, with assistance, used a combination of newspaper, chicken wire, cardboard, and masking tape to create the form of the mascot dog. They then used materials to paper mache the dog and the accessories to create the fire hydrant. Students then painted to bring the dog to life. We were visited by the Willard Fire Department Chief and a staff member to receive their recycling container and to thank the second graders for their hard work.”
Congratulations to teacher Mrs. Voss and the 11 participants in her seventh-grade art class at St. Elizabeth R-IV in St. Elizabeth on winning the 6-8 Category for their entry, “Shoot. Dribble. Score. Hornets Recycle More.” The school will receive a check for $200 for the category win.
“With a very sports driven class, they chose to create a basketball-hoop inspired trash can to place where our high school students sit for basketball games,” Voss wrote in their submission entry. “Students first braided white yarn to create the net. They then used a soldering iron to melt away the center of the lid and spray painted the remainder for the orange rim. Once they had their hoop complete, they found an old poster frame to turn into the backboard. While some worked on finishing the painting and gluing of the materials, others worked on making paper mache hornets to glue to the sides. The ‘court’ on the bottom was painted with gold leftover house paint.”
The winners were among 23 entries from Missouri elementary, middle, and home schools involving more than 275 students who helped fight litter by participating in the annual contest. See images and information on all entries online at nomoretrash.org/trash-can-contest.
Missourians can help clean up litter through the annual No MOre Trash! Trash Bash sponsored by MDC and MoDOT. The month-long, statewide, trash-collection event runs April 15 through May 15 and encourages schools, individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities to pick up litter, educate others about litter, conduct litter-free activities, and encourage friends and families to participate. For more information, visit nomoretrash.org/trash-bash.
