City of Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department

2025 Earth Day Trash Bash

Earth Day Trash Bash has expanded over the years and offers a diversity of ways to learn about Earth Day and volunteer across the Metro and Central Iowa during Earth Week April 19-26.  Volunteer opportunities help us "green" up and clean up our community each spring across a wide range of dates and for both individuals and groups. 

Earth Day Trash Bash, Iowa's largest Earth Day volunteer event, is a collaboration between the Cities & citizens of Des Moines, Clive, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, West Des Moines,  and our partners at Boone County Conservation, Polk County Conservation, Polk County Public Works, Des Moines Water Works, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and Trees Forever.

Grab your "team" or sign-up alone. We will help you plan ahead, protect yourself, and provide you opportunities to give back to continue making the Metro a great place to live, work, and play in! Hurry fast as spots will fill up quickly and are on a first-come/first-served basis. 

TO VIEW JOB DETAILS: Click on the triangle icon next to your location to drop down the full details. Select "View Description" for what to wear, where to meet, etc.

HAVE A GROUP? There are two options on how to register your team: 

1. Share the link and have them register themselves in the available openings. Please be aware that registrations are first-come/first-served. When an event is full, it will automatically close online.
2. OR contact us at trashbash@dmgov.org for a password-protected shift and link to share with your team. This option holds the available openings left and your team is registered together. Each person on your team will need to register themselves individually with this link to accept the waiver. Each person will receive their own confirmation. Please note the spots will only be held until 2 weeks prior to the event. If your team does not complete its registration process, the spots will be opened for other volunteers to fill them.

If you have a password-protected shift, enter your password below in the "password" box below to the left. 

Select Job, Location, Date, or Calendar (below right) to sort the list. *NOTE: FULL locations will not show. Only volunteer opportunities, with remaining openings, will appear in the options below.