Nearly 70,000 tons removed from roadways during Tennessee's No Trash November

Nearly 70,000 pounds of litter was removed from communities throughout Tennessee as part of the Tennessee Department of Transportation(opens in a new tab)’s (TDOT) 4th Annual No Trash November(opens in a new tab), a month-long initiative to ensure the state’s roadways and waterways are safe from the harmful effects of litter. Spearheaded by TDOT’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee(opens in a new tab) campaign, No Trash November brings together Keep Tennessee Beautiful affiliates(opens in a new tab), TDOT Grantees(opens in a new tab), Adopt-A-Highway(opens in a new tab) groups, youth groups, water groups, and individuals (opens in a new tab)who are working together to end littering. All told, 2,412 volunteers participated in 175 cleanups, collecting 3,207 bags of litter, weighing 69,776 pounds.  At any given time, there are 88 million pieces of litter on the state’s roadways. TDOT spends more than $23 million annually on litter pickup and prevention education, which is funded through dedicated revenue from Tennessee’s Soft Drink and Malt Beverage industries.