OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — August 19, 2025 – Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB) is inviting students across the state to participate in its annual Litter Education Program contests, which encourage creativity, sustainability, and environmental stewardship. Finalists will be honored at the Student Environmental Champions Awards in March 2026, and high school and college winners will each receive a $1,200 scholarship.
The UnCapped Art Contest invites elementary students to collect plastic bottle caps and transform them into works of art, accompanied by a short essay describing what they learned. Middle school students can participate in the UpCycled Invention Contest by creating functional inventions from discarded items. Photos and essays from both contests will be featured online, where the public can vote for their favorites.
Groups of 6-30 students (unless homeschooled) are eligible to register for UnCapped and UpCycled between August 18 and September 19. Projects should be submitted online by October 31. End Litter participants can register as individuals or groups of no more than 6 between August 18 and October 31.
The End Litter Video Contest challenges high school and college students to tackle the issue of litter and illegal dumping by creating a 30-45 second video that conveys littering is costly, deplorable, and illegal. Students also submit a short essay detailing the inspiration for their video. Finalists for the high school and college divisions will have their video uploaded to an online voting page for the public to vote on their favorite. Winners will receive a $1,200 cash scholarship and have their video clip appear across the internet sparking a campaign to encourage personal responsibility as the foundation for keeping Oklahoma beautiful. Video submissions must be received by December 31.
KOB’s newest competition, the GAC T-Shirt Design Contest, is open to all K–12 students. The winning design will appear on more than 10,000 shirts distributed to volunteers in all 77 Oklahoma counties during the 2026 Great American Cleanup. These entries are to be completed by individuals and must be received by October 31. All contest entries must include a teacher or faculty member listed as the point of contact and must meet all eligibility rules and requirements.
The KOB Litter Education program is sponsored in part by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. For more information about KOB, Litter Education, the Student Environmental Champions Awards, or program sponsorship, please visit: www.keepok.org or contact Selena at [email protected].