The #Trashtag Movement Is Changing The Way People Are Viewing Climate Change

This rubbish hashtag has literally gone viral

Rachel

• Published in Interesting
• March 26, 2019

The world is a trash place. Literally. There is around 2 billion tonnes of household waste created per year; of that, 8 million tonnes ends up in the ocean. But what about the rest? 99% of the things we buy are thrown out within six months. And of that, most waste isn't properly disposed of. Even if rubbish does make its way into a proper dumpsite, as it begins to decompose, it lets off harmful toxins and chemicals which leak into the Earth.

But a lot of rubbish just ends up dumped and finding its way into forests, fields, beaches and streams; ruining the natural landscapes. Enter; the #trashtag challenge. People take a photo of an area that is overrun with rubbish, clean it up and then post the incredible results. The movement has gone global; check out some results below!

Vietnam; young people volunteering to clean up the area and increase awareness.

Nepal

Manila Bay, Philippines

Long considered one of the dirtiest bays in the world; after eleven years of battle, the Supreme Court finally awarded a clean-up order. Thousands of volunteers assisted in returning this beach to its natural beauty in January.

Mumbai, India

Five million kilograms of rubbish was removed from this Mumbai beach by approximately 500 volunteers.

The #trashtag challenge

The challenge can be done on land, or even in the water!

Rubbish ends up everywhere.

Lucky the glitter is only there in emoji form!

Because actual glitter is made of little, tiny pieces of plastic, which often ends up in the ocean. It is then confused for food by sea animals and ends up eaten.

It took this person a few days to clean, but it looks amazing now!

Only took this person an hour to make a huge difference!

Mexico: a community got together to clean up!

India: students in Dimapur got together to clean up!

Bronx, NYC.

This 70-year-old retired school teacher spends her days making educational signs and cleaning up her neighbourhood.

10 people spent their Sunday cleaning this.

Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Cleaning up the environment has benefits other than aesthetic. It is important to have a good, clean eco-systems for animals to thrive in.

Potomac River, Washington DC.

Some post their #trashtags with calls for action to get the Governments to implement environmental protection laws.

"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" -- @RMcNeil2105

"Cleanups are necessary, anti-littering campaigns are helpful, but Prevention Is Essential. Strong Bottle Deposit laws and styrofoam bans are reasonable and they work. @RepDonBeyer @MarkWarner @timkaine @PotomacCommis @PotomacRiver @AliceFerguson @EnvironmentVA" -- @RMcNeil2105

An area returned to its natural glory

Some organisations do clean ups around cities in areas that have been neglected by local governments and councils.

Florida: kids helping keep beaches clean.

Wow!

Norway: high school students spent a week cleaning up rubbish at a local beach and collected a grand total of 12,400kgs of trash!

Durban, South Africa.

Successful beach clean up!

This guy spent his birthday picking up rubbish.

Belize.

A travel blog, wellnesstravelled.com, did an incredible job of cleaning up this beach, then made a post with some tips. For example, use compostable bags to collect the rubbish. Read more here.

South Africa

Jamacia Bay, NY.

California

This one just looks like people didn't clean up after having a party; disgusting.

Cleaning the Earth allows nature to grow!

Kites Cove.

Rachel