After years of ridiculous photo fads such as “planking,” there’s finally a viral photo fad that’s worth getting behind and giving exposure. It’s called #trashtag, and it’s a challenge to share the most epic before-and-after photos of trash cleanups. The tag was apparently introduced by the media brand Teton Gravity Research back in September 2015. “Help us all […] by joining the #trashtag project and posting pics of your own clean up efforts on Instagram,” the company wrote. “We aim to make a tangible impact on the environment through the galvanizing forces of social media.” But it wasn’t until this month that the hashtag started going viral around the world, and here’s the social media post that seems to have kicked things off: That was on March 5th. Over the past week, the hashtag has been picking up steam as everyone races to share the most noteworthy trash cleanup photo. View this post on Instagram De #trashtag challenge is nu al de beste online challenge ooit! Doen jullie ook mee? . . . #trashtag #challenge #cleanearthchallenge #plastic #climatechange #zwerfie #zwerfafval #viral #positivechange #savetheplanet #recycle #environment #natuur #milieu A post shared by Eco-Schools Nederland (@ecoschoolsnl) on Mar 11, 2019 at 8:31am PDT #trashtag seems to be trending. This one's from Nepal pic.twitter.com/stAxbQXhup — Kelllvvviiinnn (@kelllvvviiinnn) March 9, 2019 View this post on Instagram Students from @tetsocollege, Dimapur, accepted the #Trashtag challenge. Are you up for the challenge to keep your environment clean? Tag us if you accept the challenge. Follow @east.mojo for more news from NorthEast India and around the #EastStory #NortheastIndia #trashchallenge #ChallengeAccepted #dimapur #tetsocollege #cleanliness #environmentfriendly #students #collegestudents #cleancity #garbage #assam #arunachalpradesh #manipur #mizoram#meghalaya #nagaland #sikkim #tripura A post shared by EastMojo (@east.mojo) on Mar 11, 2019 at 4:16am PDT Along the Potomac River south of Washington, DC #trashtag pic.twitter.com/n2uPL52LZG — Robbie McNeil (@RMcNeil2105) March 10, 2019 This is just a work of an hour! #trashtag from r/pics #trashtag is awesome, never thought I’d support one in a non sarcastic fashion. I sure hope this challenge sticks around. pic.twitter.com/3t2dIqZvsE — momento (@EddieOhGonzales) March 10, 2019 View this post on Instagram ¿Por qué no hacemos esto viral? Nuevo Reto #BasuraChallenge, toma una foto a un lugar sucio, luego tomate otra cuando lo termines de limpiar. Cuidemos nuestro planeta. En Santo Domingo Norte empezamos. #trashtag #trashtags A post shared by DE FRENTE AL FUTURO (@defrentealfuturo) on Mar 11, 2019 at 6:44am PDT Hey @camerondallas the community in my home town in Mexico got together and cleaned up garbage #TrashChallenge #TrashChallenge #trashtag pic.twitter.com/hk9kNTVmSZ — GermanG (@ger__mann) March 11, 2019 As #trashtag takes off, you may soon be greeted by a much cleaner sight when you visit outdoor locations near you, whether it’s a beach, park, or even a sidewalk. And if you have some free time, feel free to join in on this worthwhile trend to help make our world a cleaner place!
