Challenge:
No Trash November (NTN) was created in 2021 by Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT) Nobody Trashes Tennessee’s (NTT) litter prevention campaign in response to the declining number of volunteer cleanups occurring in the state, the overall reduction in statewide litter tonnage collected, and to coalesce and engage partners during a time of year when litter prevention efforts tend to wane.
Approach:
Engage numerous TDOT partners and their constituents, and support them to recruit volunteers and host cleanups throughout the month. Our partners were litter grant recipients in all 95 counties, more than 30 Keep Tennessee Beautiful affiliates, and approximately 225 Adopt-A-Highway groups. Additionally, we engaged student-athletes and youth groups. Now in its third year, we needed to create an even larger impact on litter in the state.
Solution:
Combine an all-encompassing digital footprint, live events and smart support materials to support cleanups throughout the state for No Trash November. Incentivize groups and partners to collect the most pounds of trash. The omni channel approach used the website as a hub and layered on additional materials like a landing page, live trash tracker, campaign toolkit for groups, interactive litter quiz and an easy form to report collections. We kept awareness high with social videos and graphics, robust digital ads, and earned media outreach at key campaign points.
2023 Results:
- A total of 86,064 pounds of litter was removed from Tennessee roadways and waterways, exceeding the goal of 50,000 pounds.
- 2,201 volunteers participated in 154 cleanup events across the state. Our goal was 100 cleanups.
- Website traffic, earned media coverage and social media engagements increased significantly over the previous years’ events.
Step In Communication was the social media partner for this campaign, which included Gray Public Relations and The Atkins Group. It won a Silver Anvil Award of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America in May 2023.