LULING — St. Charles Parish will once again go green March 25 with the parishwide Trash Bash, a litter cleanup and recycling awareness event from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Those interested in volunteering may sign up as teams or individuals at scptrashbash.org or by calling 985-331-8604. The deadline to register for Trash Bash is March 15.

“This is a great opportunity for our residents to volunteer in their community and make a difference simply by picking up trash,” Parish President Larry Cochran said. “St. Charles Parish is a beautiful place to live, but we must continue to do our part to keep it that way.”

Groups of volunteers will spread out around the parish beginning at 8:30 a.m. to clean up litter hotspots in their respective communities. Volunteers can either choose their own areas to clean or be assigned one. 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 for Trash Bash participants 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 and information about local recycling efforts and wetlands restoration. Residents can check scptrashbash.org for updates as more activities are added.

The Capital Area Corporate Recycling Council will be on site to collect old electronics and provide recycling information to residents. A complete list of items that will be accepted can be found here.

The Harry Hurst Middle School Wetland Watchers have also 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.

In, a total of 306 volunteers registered for Trash Bash, with 206 attending the after-party at the new Edward A. Dufresne Community Center. A total of 340 bags of litter were collected.

Previous volunteers are asked to 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.