Before company comes over for the holidays, you clean the house. 

That’s the idea behind Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT) Nobody Trashes Tennessee No Trash November campaign, a month-long statewide initiative encouraging Tennesseans to participate in cleanup events in their communities. 

“As we approach the holidays and increased travel, we want to ensure our roadways are safe from the harmful effects of litter,” said TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright. “Whether intentional or unintentional, litter on our public roads impacts safety, the environment, and the economy, while also detracting from the state’s natural beauty.”

Alderman Missy Marshall, Executive Director for Keep Tennessee Beautiful, helped organize a No Trash November cleanup event for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and Town Department Heads. 

“We are rallying our local Keep America Beautiful affiliates to participate in the first ever No Trash November campaign to help reach the goal to remove 20,000 pounds of litter from our roads,” said Aldermen Marshall. “We know that when we come together, we can make an even bigger impact.”

On Friday morning, November 19, 2021, twelve representatives from the Town picked up litter walking up and down Poplar Avenue (Highway 57) from Collierville Arlington Road close to the Fayette County line. Special Citizen Volunteer Patrol members helped as safety escorts. When the group returned to their meeting spot, Public Services was ready to pick up the trash bags and weigh in the results.

The group filled 26 trash bags weighing in at 520 pounds. They also picked up 206 pounds of roadside debris (car parts, building materials, etc.) bringing the total to 726 pounds of trash collected in a mile along both sides of Poplar.

“This was really nice to get out from behind a desk and do something that makes a difference,” said John Fox, Public Utilities Manager.

Through multiple litter studies, the state discovered 100 million pieces of litter on Tennessee state roadways, costing TDOT $19 million to clean it up every year. 

Nobody Trashes Tennessee is the State of Tennessee’s official litter prevention campaign managed by TDOT. Visit nobodytrashestennessee.com to learn more about TDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program and additional ways to get involved in helping to prevent and reduce litter through personal actions, community events, and reporting littering incidents through the Tennessee Litter Hotline (1-877-8LITTER). 

(Pictured above L-R: Jennifer Casey, Public Information Officer, Jay Cravens, Development Director, Bob Speroff, Special Citizen Volunteer Patrol, Jay Jeffries, Human Resources Director, Josh Russell, Public Works Manager, John Stamps, Alderman, James Lewellen, Town Administrator, Don Clayton, Special Citizen Volunteer Patrol, John Fox, Public Utilities Manager, Greg Clark, Parks and Recreation Director, Dale Lane, Chief of Police, Mike Connery, Special Citizen Volunteer Patrol, John Worley, Alderman, Adam Hamric, Assistant Town Administrator, and Missy Marshall, Alderman.)