Missouri's annual No MOre Trash! will be held April 15 through May 15.
The Trash Bash is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation and Missouri Department of Transportation as part of an ongoing No MOre Trash! statewide anti-litter campaign.
According to a news release, the annual event encourages people to clean up litter from roadsides, parks, neighborhoods, rivers, streams, trails and other places. Trash Bash activities in April also include educational efforts in schools, through community events, Earth Day celebrations, media promotions and more.
In 2018, 65,185 bags of litter and several truckloads of debris were picked up during the spring No MOre Trash! Bash.
Volunteers participated through Adopt-A-Highway and Stream Team litter cleanup events. Missouri Stream Team Program volunteers remove about 547 tons of litter from waterways and dedicated more than $2.3 million worth of volunteer time to litter removal statewide annually.
Last year, MoDOT spent $6.4 million to remove litter from more than 385,000 acres of roadsides along 34,000 state highway miles. Annual volunteer efforts to pick up litter along Missouri highways are valued at more than $1 million.
No MOre Trash! was introduced in 2002 and is a year-round effort. The No MOre Trash! Bash is a special event that has been held each spring since 2004.
Volunteers are needed across the state to participate in litter cleanup activities. For more information and to learn how to participate, visit.nomoretrash.org or call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636).