Special to
L’Observateur

LULING — St. Charles Parish’s seventh installment of the spring, parishwide Trash Bash is from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 7, complete with litter cleanup and recycling awareness.

Those interested in volunteering may sign up as teams or individuals at scptrashbash.org or by calling 985-331-8604.

Groups of volunteers will fan out around the parish beginning at 8:30 a.m. to clean up litter hotspots.

Volunteers can choose their own areas to clean or be assigned one by organizers.

All equipment will be provided, including pickup sticks, gloves and trash bags. 

Verification certificates will be available for students needing service hours for school or church requirements.

A culminating celebration kicks off at 11:30 a.m. at the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center, 274 Judge Edward Dufresne Parkway in Luling. Volunteers are invited to enjoy free food, music, face painting, a rock climbing wall and information about local recycling efforts and wetlands restoration.

Residents can check scptrashbash.org for updates as more activities are added. Please note this event does not include a recycling drop off.

“I am very proud of the progress our parish has made over the last seven years, and specifically of the hard work accomplished by our treasured Trash Bash volunteers,” Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. said.

“We are looking forward to a reinvigorated event during which we’ll celebrate past accomplishments and look toward the future of litter abatement and beautification efforts in St. Charles Parish.”

The Harry Hurst Middle School Wetland Watchers have already signed on to display local wildlife and nature exhibits.

Teams will report on their trash-bashing progress using a new digital database reporting system at the celebration itself using mobile devices, allowing for day-of statistical reporting. In addition, awards will be given to teams that provide the most volunteers and collect the most trash, and door prizes will be available. 

Last spring, a total of 420 volunteers registered for Trash Bash, with 206 attending the after-party.

A total of 218 bags of litter were collected, which equaled approximately 1,560 pounds of trash.

Those interested in sponsoring Trash Bash or providing door prizes can contact Renee A. Simpson at 985-783-5183 or rsimpson@stcharlesgov.net.

Previous volunteers are asked to re-wear their Trash Bash T-shirts if available. New volunteers who wish to reserve a specific T-shirt size should sign up as soon as possible.