ADEM received a competitive federal grant from the EPA Gulf of America Division as part of the Trash Free Waters Program in late 2020 and worked with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) and the Alabama Department of Tourism to implement the “Help Keep Our Waters Clean” project. The “Help Keep Our Waters Clean” project is designed to promote awareness about watersheds and reduce NPS pollution from entering waterways that drain to the Gulf of America. The goal of the project is to engage Alabama citizens in the fight against litter through education and outreach that encourages the use of voluntary and sustainable best practices.

Perhaps the most visible aspects of the “Help Keep Our Waters Clean” project are signs that were placed along interstates in Alabama to inform motorists that they are entering a watershed and encourage them not to litter. Additionally, litter education sculptures have been placed throughout the state at eight targeted ALDOT Welcome Centers.  A Loggerhead Sea Turtle was installed  at the Grand Bay Welcome Center, an American White Pelican has been placed at the Baldwin County Welcome Center, a pair of Sandhill Cranes have been placed at the Dothan Welcome Center, a Largemouth Bass has been placed at the Governor Guy Hunt Rest Stop, a Black Bear has been installed at the Cleburne County Welcome Center, a White-Tailed Deer has been installed at the Dekalb Welcome Center, a Turkey has been installed at the Sumter County Welcome Center, and a pair of Mallard Ducks have been installed at the Lanett Welcome Center. 

The sculptures are filled with plastic bottles, an item commonly used and found in litter. Litter on the ground ends up in the water. EPA’s WasteWise Program indicates that plastics require 100 to 400 years to break down but producing new plastic from recycled material uses only two-thirds of the energy required to manufacture it from raw materials. By properly managing items like plastics by disposing or recycling, it helps keep it out of our waterways. 

Sculptures and More Info

To find out more about a certain river basin or litter education sculpture, click on the basin or sculpture link. The numbers represented on the map correspond to the litter education sculpture and its installation location.

Did you know?

• The State is divided into sixteen (16) river basins containing 129,700 miles of rivers and streams.
• Alabama has ponds, lakes, and reservoirs in excess of 490,472 acres.  Freshwater wetlands occupy an estimated 3,600,000 acres.
• Alabama’s coastal wetlands are estimated at 27,600 acres (National Wetland Inventory estimates).  Coastal Alabama also contains an estimated 610 square miles of estuaries and a coastal shoreline that is 337 miles long (includes Mobile Bay and island shorelines).
• Each year the state of Alabama spends approximately 9 million dollars on cleanup efforts along 
  state highways.