Oklahoma’s student artists could win cash prizes, as well as statewide recognition for their artwork, by entering the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s 34th annual Trash Poster Contest.
ODOT and several other state agencies sponsor the contest, which encourages students in kindergarten through 12th grade to submit an original and positive poster and slogan about solving the state’s litter problems, according to ODOT’s website. The contest began Dec. 1 and runs through Jan. 31, 2025.
All poster entries must be submitted by the deadline to the student’s local Department of Environmental Quality office.
County-level participants who place first, second or third will receive certificates, and their posters will be submitted for state judging, according to ODOT’s website. State-level winners will be notified in March and honored at an awards ceremony, set for mid-April at the ODOT building in Oklahoma City.
“State winners each receive a cash prize, poster design T-shirt, recognition at the state Capitol by the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate, and a legislative award citation,” ODOT officials said. “State-winning posters will build the upcoming 2026 Trash Poster Calendar.”
Twelve winning posters will be featured in a printed calendar, and one additional winner will be chosen as the contest’s promotional poster of the year. That poster and an entry form showing another poster will be included in each calendar.
State winners in each of the four grade divisions will receive cash prizes, according to the website. The prizes are $300 for the first-place winner, $200 for second place and $150 for third place. The creator of the promotional poster of the year will win a $300 prize, and a $200 prize will go to the creator of the entry form poster.
The classroom project or homeschool teacher for each of the state winners may receive a voucher for a one-night stay at an Oklahoma state park, depending on availability, and a cash award, according to the website. The prizes, which must be used to buy classroom art supplies, are $150 for first place and the promotional poster of the year, $100 for second place and the entry form poster, and $75 for third place.