We have witnessed a number of senseless internet challenges sweep across the web – from swallowing a spoonful of cinnamon powder without any water to eating corn on the cob as quickly as possible by attaching it to a power drill – we think we have seen it all.
But recently, another internet challenge has been going viral for a completely wholesome reason – to make the world a better place.
It’s called the #trashtagchallenge, where participants find locations full of garbage, clean them up, and post before and after pictures on social media.
The challenge gained traction after a Reddit post challenged people to “make the world a better place”. However, the idea was first conceived in 2015, when UCO, an outdoors clothing company, launched the #TrashTag Project.
“Me and a buddy of mine were out on a road trip in California and a receipt blew out of a window. We kind of felt bad about it because it was in a really pretty location, so we decided to pick up 100 pieces of trash.”, recalls Steven Reinhold, a UCO people ambassador at the time.
Let’s Do It Foundation says that 1.3 billion tons of household waste is generated per year but only about 258-368 million tons of trash end up in one of the 50 largest dumpsites. Every year, there are also 8 million tons of garbage added to our oceans, 80% of which comes from mainland waste.
The above is a highly alarming statistic, and there couldn’t have been any perfect time than now for the #trashtag challenge to resurface.
Below are some of the best entries to the #trashtag challenge from around the globe.
#trashtag 1
#trashtag 2
#trashtag 3
#trashtag 4
#trashtag 5
#trashtag 6
#trashtag 7
#trashtag 8
#trashtag 9
#trashtag 10
Thanks to the #trashtag challenge, there is now an increasing awareness about the world’s current waste situation. Let’s just hope that this “challenge” becomes not only just a viral trend, but a lifetime commitment to everyone who participated and will participate in it.
Let’s all do our part in making this earth a better and cleaner place!
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