#Trashtag: A viral challenge that has sent people on a cleaning spree globally

From lakes and beaches, to parks and roads, enthusiastic volunteers have been picking up garbage and collecting it in trash bags, while urging others to join in and raise awareness about single-use plastic waste.

The challenge has been taken up by people across countries and goes by different names including #CleanUpChallenge, #trashchallenge and #ChallengeforChange.

The #trashtag challenge was first started in 2015 by the outdoor gear company UCO, reported Mashable. The original challenge led to 10,000 pieces of plastic being picked up till October 2016. However, this challenge gained fresh momentum when a Facebook post last week directed at “tired teens” gave it a new life, and ensured the hashtag went viral.