Chester Moses was taking a short break Saturday during the 2014 Trash Bash in the parking lot of Chennault International Airport. She was resting on the back of one of the storage trucks, waiting for the next car to pass by.

Moses runs Team Green of Southwest Louisiana’s Clean Campus contests, and as she took her quick break, a handful of young volunteers worked diligently nearby. For Moses, those kids were a large part of what the Trash Bash is all about.

“This is a really good thing for the younger resident in the area. It teaches them at an early age that there are a lot of ways you can keep your surroundings clean,” Moses said. “It’s really just a great thing for the community. It proves that the community here is invested in keeping the area nice.”

Garbage trucks and dumpsters lined one side of the event. Cars were able to turn into the parking lot and stop in front of specific zones designated for what they were dropping off. One of the busiest sections was for electronics, evident in the pile of computer monitors next to the volunteers. The area where Moses was working was designated for reusable items. The items that didn’t need to be thrown away or recycled were placed in the truck to eventually be given to the Salvation Army.

Marjorie Latigue, another one of the leading forces behind the Team Green endeavors, was directing one of the vehicles in Moses’ direction.

“You said you wanted something, so here you go,” Latigue said to Moses as the volunteers carried items away from the truck.

One of the items pulled out of the bed of the truck was a metal headboard decorated with gold-colored flowers. “Thanks for coming. Remind your neighbors that we’re here,” Latigue said to the driver as the truck pulled away. “The things we put in here, if they’re not in mint condition, they’re at least reusable.”

On the other side of the event away from the sorting and sifting was a tent. Under the tent, what looked like a human assembly line of volunteers handled the most common household item delivered at the Trash Bash — old paint.

What the group was doing was going through the containers and if the paint was still liquid and not dried out, it would be passed along until finally being labeled and placed in one of the many five-gallon containers. The labeling system detailed the types from exterior oil-based paints to interior paints.

“It looks like a factory, doesn’t it?” Latigue said as she watched the group work. “People can actually come here and take these containers home if they need them. This is just one aspect of this event. There are so many benefits to the community that it’s almost hard to count all of them.”Team Green members sort through trash on a trailer during a past Trash Bash. (American Press)