KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Tennessee Department of Transportation’s “No Trash November” initiative is aiming to remove 50,000 pounds of litter from the state’s roadways.

The month-long initiative encourages Tennesseans to participate in cleanup events in their communities.

This is the third annual “No Trash November,” and last year, the campaign included 95 events with more than 1,300 volunteers who collected more than 48,000 pounds of trash.

“Litter on our public roads is detrimental to safety, the environment, and the economy, while also detracting from Tennessee’s natural beauty,” said TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. “We want to ensure our roadways are safe from the harmful effects of litter, especially with the upcoming holidays and increased travel.”

To make clean up possible, residents are encouraged to existing public clean up events or to host their own community cleanup events this month. The initiative also partners with Keep Tennessee Beautiful, Adopt-A-Highway participants and youth groups including Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

“We are grateful for our many partners across the state that are once again coming together in November to help us in our mission to prevent and reduce litter and look forward to reaching our goal to remove 50,000 pounds of litter from our roadways,” said Brittany Morris, TDOT Beautification Office. “By working together to improve and beautify communities across the state, we can make an even larger impact.”

A statewide calendar of events is available on TDOT’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee website. Several events are already listed in East Tennessee.

Residents can show their support to keep the state litter-free by using the hashtags #NobodyTrashesTennessee and #NoTrashNovember on social media while highlighting their litter prevention actions throughout the month. Learn more about how to participate in No Trash November here.