New Patch Celebrates 30 Years of “Don’t Mess with Texas”

Scouts across the Lone Star State joined the “Don’t mess with Texas” Trash-Off event this Saturday to celebrate the anti-litter campaign’s thirtieth anniversary. Their pledge to “keep Texas beautiful” was made at the Circle Ten Council in Dallas on Wednesday, as they stood in front of a massive 12-foot ball of garbage.

Sounds daunting, right? Fortunately for these Scouts, the mass of trash wasn’t a part of the trash they’d be collecting—it’s art! The sculpture made of cans, wrappers, boxes, and other rubbish is owned by the “Don’t mess with Texas” campaign, created to illustrate the impact of even the smallest trash.

The “Don’t mess with Texas” anti-litter campaign is a partnership between the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the group Keep Texas Beautiful. The campaign now joins forces with a group that knows a thing or two about taking care of the environment—Scouts!

Scouts from all over Texas contributed to Saturday’s clean-up effort but the mission didn’t stop there. Throughout the year, “Don’t mess with Texas” will host several more Trash & Treasure Hunt events.

A special “Don’t mess with Texas” 30th anniversary patch can be earned not only by Scouts who participated in Saturday’s event, but also those who participate in these additional litter-pick up events throughout the year! Be sure to head to the “Don’t mess with Texas” website for details on how you can earn the patch.

BSA’s director of marketing, Michael Ramsey gave his thoughts at the anniversary event. “Being helpful and keeping our communities clean are two of the core values that Scouting imparts to boys. That’s why hundreds of our Scouts will be participating in the Texas Trash-Off this weekend as a way to put both values into practice.”

The gargantuan garbage ball may have just been artwork, but that didn’t mean the Texas Scouts had it easy on Saturday. The annual Trash-Off is the largest one-day roadway cleanup effort in Texas. Just to give you an idea, the 2015 Trash-Off hosted 1,500 litter pick-up events and welcomed more than 85,000 volunteers who gathered more than 10 million pounds of waste and recyclables.

Environmental stewardship has been a part of BSA’s mission for over a century. Naturally, the Boy Scouts were ready to team up with “Don’t mess with Texas” in celebration of the campaign’s thirty-year milestone.

To learn more about BSA’s sustainability efforts, check out the “Green to Deep Green” website. For more information about the “Don’t mess with Texas” campaign, head to DontMessWithTexas.org.

Does your council participate in any special litter pick-up events? Tell us about it in the comments below!