TDOT Litter Grant

In Tennessee, there are 96,167 miles of public roads; 14,110 miles are maintained by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and 4,022 of these miles are classified as scenic.

​Litter prevention and pickup efforts are critical to keeping roadways safe and maintaining the natural beauty of Tennessee. TDOT spends approximately $19 million annually on the programs described in this report and right-of-way litter pickup contracts.

In 1981, the Soft Drink and Malt Beverage Industries took a comprehensive, proactive approach to prevent their bottles and other trash from becoming litter along Tennessee roadways. As good corporate citizens, the industry lobbied to establish a tax on their products to help fund litter prevention in Tennessee.

Since 1983, the tax revenues from TCA § 67-4-402 and TCA § 57-5-201 have funded the TDOT Highway Beautification Office’s Litter Grant Program. The law gives TDOT discretion on how to best use the funds to clean up and prevent litter, and matters related to litter, such as recycling or litter in storm water runoff.

Litter Grants are available to all 95 counties. Funding is allocated to each county by a formula based on population and road miles. The Litter Grant Program supports a variety of programs and activities that help reduce litter throughout Tennessee. Through the efforts of collaborative county partners, the Litter Grant Program is responsible for removing an average of 11,573 tons of litter each year. Over the 37-year history of the program (1983 to 2020) this equates to the removal of more than 428,200 tons of litter from our roadways.

Litter Grant Program Results through FY 2019:

• 529,736 miles of Tennessee roadways cleaned
• 4,332 illegal roadside dumps removed
• Over 23 million pounds of litter collected
• 9.2 million pounds of litter debris recycled

Click here to view the FY 2020 Litter Grant Annual Report (PDF)

TDOT Litter Grant Training
2021 Litter Grant Training (recording)
2021 Litter Grant Presentation (PDF)
2021 Litter Grant Training Manual (PDF)
2021 Litter Grant Training Form (PDF)
Revised NTT Branding Guidelines - 2021 (PDF)

TDOT maintains a toll-free hotline at 1-877-8-LITTER (877-854-8837).