More than 400 middle school students from across the state showed off their creative side by entering the Don’t mess with Texas® Middle School Can Slogan Contest. Organized by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Keep Texas Beautiful, middle school students were asked to write their own inventive slogan to be featured on a Don’t mess with Texas®   trashcan.

Ten entries were selected to have their slogan decaled on a specially made trashcan that will be awarded to the winning schools for display and use. The slogans had to contain a litter prevention message and also could promote school pride.

“It’s incredible how much we can learn from the thought and creativity of these students,” said De J. Lozada, Travel Information Division Director at TxDOT. “We’re proud that this contest highlights the talent of these bright young Texans while encouraging us all to do our part to ensure that our beautiful state also continues to shine.”

While schools could submit as many entries as they wanted, only one winning slogan per school was selected. The contest was open to students enrolled in grades six through eight attending a Texas middle school. The trashcans will be delivered before the start of the 2015-2016 school year.

Winning slogans include:

• Wrangle in your trash cowboy!, Ella Weathers of Trinity Middle School, Trinity
• I’m all about that waste, Nathalie Quintanilla of Devers Middle School in Devers.
• WILDCATS I’M OPEN, Maddie Strickling of Whitney Middle School in Whitney.
• Give your trash a home, Zackary Huntley of Nottingham Middle School in Dayton.
• Hey good looking, got any trash?, Ivelissa Gonzalez of Buffalo Jr. High in Buffalo.
• Dunk don’t dump, Mario Mairena of Raul Yzaguirre School for Success in Houston.
• #trashme, Lexi Rogers of Neches Elementary in Neches.
• SERIOUSLY? I ‘M RIGHT HERE, Kathleen Espinoza of Flores Middle School in Uvalde.
• KEEP CALM AND TRASH ON, Brandon Ramirez of Flatonia ISD in Flatonia.
• TRASHKETBALL Bet you’ll miss, Lone Oak Middle School 8th Grade Art II Class of Lone Oak Middle School in Lone Oak.

TxDOT and Keep Texas Beautiful organized the contest as a way to educate soon-to-be drivers on the negative effects of littering while creating awareness and excitement for the Don’t mess with Texas program and message. All student winners will be showcased on the Don’t mess with Texas® and Keep Texas Beautiful websites and at the 2015 Keep Texas Beautiful annual conference in June.

More information on these programs is available at www.DontMesswithTexas.org.