TRASH BASH: Volunteers Cleanup Des Moines | News

People will celebrate Earth Day a little early by picking up trash in Des Moines Friday. This is the 7^th year for the Trash Bash, and organizers say the event has grown.

Des Moines Parks and Recreation Assistant Director Ben Page says about 1,200 people will pick up garbage.  Only 25 people helped the first year. Last year, 1,100 volunteers collected 6,000 pounds of trash.

And, they won’t just take out the trash. He says volunteers will also have fun. People will get prizes for most cigarette butts collected, most overall trash collected and the strangest piece. Page says you never know what you’ll find.  He says, “You can just guess what they’ve found, anything from tires to car parts, even a love letter one time that was lost, an old check that wasn’t cashed.”

The Trash Bash kicks off at 11:30 at Nollen Plaza. Big City Burgers and Greens will serve a free lunch to volunteers.  People will start picking up trash around town from 1:30 to 5 p.m.