Salute to St. Charles Parish leaders for sponsoring a creative challenge that pushes residents to do what we should already be doing as decent citizens — cleaning up for ourselves.

It doesn’t hurt anybody to pick up the trash in front of where they live, while looking out for anything that can be bagged in a half-block radius. That simple act, when multiplied by a neighborhood of people, cuts down on crime and increases property values.

The results should justify the actions, but some encouragement from local leaders goes a long way, as well.

St. Charles leaders announced this week they were encouraging volunteer groups, schools, families and individuals to clean and beautify the parish in October through the Trash Bash initiative — an effort to clean roadside litter and spruce up private yards, homes and businesses.

Volunteers decide which areas they wish to clean and are eligible an Apple iPad mini in an online photo contest.

Groups or individuals wishing to participate must sign up at scptrashbash.org using the form provided.

Participants then have until midnight Oct. 31 to email photos of their cleanup or beautification project to publicinfo@stcharlesgov.net. Before and after photos and action photos are encouraged.

All entries will be posted to the Trash Bash Facebook page with a full description of each project.

After a period of five days after the posting date, the two projects with the most ‘likes’ associated with its photo will win.

According to St. Charles Parish leaders, the event helps the parish promote a safe, environmentally conscious image that celebrates cultural and aesthetic enjoyments.