Bayless High School took home the grand prize and the ninth through 12th-grade category win in the Missouri Department of Transportation’s “Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter Free” trash-can decorating contest in April. The winning entry, titled “Feed Me MO Trash!”, was created by Patricia Mudd and her ceramics class students.
“Bayless High School students in the Ceramics II Sculpture class collaborated to create a trash can design,” Mudd said in their submission entry.
“Feed Me MO Trash” was inspired by the school’s production of Little Shop of Horrors and the piranha plants featured in The Super Mario Bros. video game series.
Bayless High School received $200 for winning the ninth through 12th-grade category and an additional $600 and a trophy for being the grand prize winner. The project will be displayed in the MoDOT Highway Gardens building at this year’s Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, from Aug. 8-18.
The “Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter Free” contest, part of Missouri’s “No MOre Trash!” campaign, aims to raise awareness about littering and encourage participation from students across the state. Students from kindergarten through 12th grade were invited to decorate and display a large trash can with the “No MOre Trash!” logo and a litter-prevention message. Entries were judged by MoDOT staff, and the first-place winners from each of the four competition categories received a $200 award. All first-place winners were eligible for the grand prize.
Other winners in the contest included:
Kindergarten through 2nd-grade category: Lauren Roth and her second-grade MOSAICS gifted education students at Pierremont Elementary School in Manchester, for their entry “Beep, Bop, Boop! Help Wall-E block up trash one piece at a time!”
Third through fifth-grade category: Kendra Stecko and her Media Production Club students at Twin Chimneys Elementary School in O’Fallon, for their “Trashbusters” entry.
Sixth through eighth-grade category: Valerie Walker and her students at Festus Middle School in Festus, for their entry “The Wizard Says: Cast Away Trash!”
All winners were selected from 21 entries submitted by Missouri students.
Missourians are encouraged to participate in the annual “No MOre Trash! Bash,” a month-long, statewide trash-collection event held in April. The event promotes litter pickup, education on litter prevention and engagement in litter-free activities.