Hashtags and viral challenges usually represent funny or iconic moments in pop culture, but there is a new viral movement that has taken off whose goal isn't to entertain - but to help save the planet.
1.3 billion tonnes of household waste is generated per year and only 258 -368 million tons of it ends up in the 50 largest dumpsites, and million tons of it ends up in the ocean, 80% of which comes from mainland waste. Well, the new hashtag #trashtag wants everyone to chip in to chip away at this trash problem. People are challenged to take a before photo of an area that is in need of intense trash clean-up, followed by an after photo of the beautified area.
The hashtag blew up on social media after a reddit user posted a screenshot of someone who had completed the challenge, with the caption: "Here is a new #challenge for all you bored teens. Take a photo of an area that needs some cleaning or maintenance then take a photo after you have done something about it, and post it here.” Scroll down below to see some of the best photos from this environmentally-friendly hashtag and don't forget to upvote your favs!
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#trashtag from Vietnam, youngsters gather voluntarily to clean up the environment and to raise public awareness
Even when waste is put into dump sites it finds other ways of getting out into the world. As trash decomposes it can release toxins and harmful chemicals that leak into the soil, which then spreads into the water and air. While this can seem life a slow process that might not directly affect you, improper waste management can have deadly consequences in real time. In 1998 and 1999 thousands of people were killed in Bangladesh by flood waters caused by piled up waste in the sewers.
#trashtag Manila Bay has been considered one of the dirtiest bays across the world. After 11 years, the Supreme Court finally issued a cleanup order which thousands of volunteers joined last January 27, 2019.
Worldwide, each individual person generates an average of 0.74 kilograms of waste per day, but ranges widely, from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms. High-income countries generate about 34 percent, or 683 million tonnes, of the world’s waste, even though they only account for 16 percent of the world’s population.
Around 500 volunteers helped with the cleanup of 5 million kg of trash from this Mumbai beach.
This should be the new challenge to make the world a better place
Americans love to supersize everything and that includes waste. Even though Americans make up roughly 5% of the world's population, they generate close to 40% of the world's total waste.
Just one of the many days cleaning up our local water ways. Featuring Selma Kayak and Large Marge the Garbage Barge
3 women cleaned up this area together.
While every tip of the planet seems to be filled with waste, the only place where you can almost escape the endless litter is Antartica. It is protected by the Antarctic Treaty, a treaty that prohibits military activity, mineral mining, nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal.
This is just a work of an hour! #trashtag
Even though small, still helping. (Would’ve taken me at least 3 hours)
Landfills are the designated place where trash belongs and with so much waste being thrown in them things get densely packed in. For trash degradation it goes through an anaerobic process (without air), which creates huge amounts of methane gas - a greenhouse gas with an environmental impact 25x greater than carbon dioxide.
Students from @tetsocollege, Dimapur, accepted the #Trashtag challenge
You might not think of plastic packaging and food to be equals, but food does fall under the waste category. Roughly one-third of food produced in the world for human consumption every year (approximately 1.3 billion tons) is wasted. Each American throws out around 1,2000 pounds of organic garbage that could be composted.
My aunt is a 70 year old retired school teacher and she has been making these signs and going around cleaning up our neighborhood in the Bronx for a few months now #Trashtag
Took the whole Sunday morning for 10 people. But finally completed the #trashtag challenge
Annually, more than 14 billion pounds of garbage is dumped into the world’s ocean (mainly marine life toxic plastic).This has contributed to what is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or Pacific trash vortex, a cluster of marine debris in the Pacific Ocean that is twice the size of the U.S.
Along the Potomac River south of Washington, DC. We have to clean up the existing mess, but bottle deposit laws and styrofoam bans would prevent most of it. Contact your local, state, and federal representatives and insist on this.
Ever think about what happened to that outdated flip phone of yours? It probably ended up in a landfill along with the over 140 million cell phones thrown into landfills by Americans yearly. Every year, over 50 million tons of electronic waste like cell phones, computers, TVs, etc is created.
People are starting to accept the challenge
There's an organisation I volunteer at and we basically do cleanups like this in the city. Places that have been forgotten by the local government and make them accessible for the public
Love seeing this become a challenge! Keeping the beaches clean here in Florida
40 Norwegian Folk High School students from Alta spent one week picking trash at a local beach, gathering a total of 12,400kg
We did our first “official” beach clean-up in Belize that past December. Before this I’d say we were classified as “beach(trash)combers”, picking up the odd straw and plastic bottle we saw on our walks. However, for Belize, we travelled there with the intention of dedicating time to picking up any trash we came across on our hikes and beach walks. We even created a social media “clean-up crew” by partnering with other travellers to do a clean-up with us at the same time.
Cleaning up floating debris in Jamaica Bay, NY
Wow brave person, as a bit of a Germaphobe, I don’t know I’d be able to sit in a small boat with damp trash lol.
Did our part today for #trashtag while offroading in the mountains of California
We collected all this from our small beach at Kites Cove
Some state parks in the USA used to pay a "bounty" on trash brought out above and beyond what the person brought in. It was a free fishing license or camping permit for a weekend in the future. They stopped that program just before I moved. My friends and I used to raffle the bounty off at our scout meetings or use them for rewards.
Why did they get rid of it? That's a wonderful incentive.
A club out there decided that it should be shut down. Same club made it a rule that the Boy Scouts could not camp on the trails they were repairing for Eagle Scout Service Projects. Mine was one of the last allowed, and we replanted 11 acres of trees after a wild fire destroyed the area.
Probably people abusing it, saying their trash was "bounty" trash, or purposely dumping to later clean and collect.
This is truly great, but I am afraid that the AFTER will soon turn to BEFORE again, because this problem needs to be stopped at the source. Nevertheless, great effort and an amazing change, for as long as it may last.
I know the Mumbai beach above was back to trash within three months, sadly
Very sad. I wonder what can be done to make it permanent? A littering fine? A volunteer litter brigade?
I wish people weren't that disgusting to begin with. I also notice a severe lack of trash cans which would help with the issue. And I fear it won't take long before it is just as bad again as it was before the clean up...
When in the wildernes and beaches, people should really take all the trash with them (and recycle). I'm learning to do this to all my trash too when it's possible. Of course public places should have enough of trash cans but I mean we should really take responsibility of our own waste, the endcome of products we buy and consume. Corporations don't make it easy tho with all the overpacking
Some state parks in the USA used to pay a "bounty" on trash brought out above and beyond what the person brought in. It was a free fishing license or camping permit for a weekend in the future. They stopped that program just before I moved. My friends and I used to raffle the bounty off at our scout meetings or use them for rewards.
Why did they get rid of it? That's a wonderful incentive.
A club out there decided that it should be shut down. Same club made it a rule that the Boy Scouts could not camp on the trails they were repairing for Eagle Scout Service Projects. Mine was one of the last allowed, and we replanted 11 acres of trees after a wild fire destroyed the area.
Probably people abusing it, saying their trash was "bounty" trash, or purposely dumping to later clean and collect.
This is truly great, but I am afraid that the AFTER will soon turn to BEFORE again, because this problem needs to be stopped at the source. Nevertheless, great effort and an amazing change, for as long as it may last.
I know the Mumbai beach above was back to trash within three months, sadly
Very sad. I wonder what can be done to make it permanent? A littering fine? A volunteer litter brigade?
I wish people weren't that disgusting to begin with. I also notice a severe lack of trash cans which would help with the issue. And I fear it won't take long before it is just as bad again as it was before the clean up...
When in the wildernes and beaches, people should really take all the trash with them (and recycle). I'm learning to do this to all my trash too when it's possible. Of course public places should have enough of trash cans but I mean we should really take responsibility of our own waste, the endcome of products we buy and consume. Corporations don't make it easy tho with all the overpacking