Across Latvia thousands of people are expected to gather April 18 for the second annual Great Cleanup Day (Lielā Talka), a project that aims to make the Baltic region the cleanest in the world.

Last year an estimated 50,000 participants filled more than 260,000 trash bags with litter found around the country, according to organizers. The first event took place Sept. 13 and was part of the yearlong celebration of the 90th anniversary of Latvia’s declaration of independence.

This year similar efforts are expected to take place in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and the region of St. Petersburg, Russia.

So far nearly 480 municipalities, schools, organizations and companies have signed up to coordinate local cleanup events this year, organizers said in a press release. In addition, the state government has allocated LVL 36,540 to help municipalities with the cost of transporting the trash.

Among groups active in last year’s effort were Latvians from Australia.

The idea for the Great Cleanup Day came from writer Anna Žīgure.

Work begins at 10 a.m. local time in Latvia.

Organizers of the Great Cleanup Day are the nongovernmental organization Project Footprints (Projeks Pēdas) and the interest group For Clean Forests (Tīriem mežiem). For further information on the project, visit talkas.lv.