#TrashTag Rose to Fame in 2019—Let’s Keep it Famous in 2020
Social media is the driving force behind change. Pessimists say one person can’t make a difference, but with #trashtag, they can. One person shares their before/after photos of cleaning up litter, then thousands more are inspired to do the same. In an instant, that simple act of kindness toward the environment is trending across the world! Social media connects people from all corners of the Earth like never before. Starting an environmental movement is the easiest it’s ever been!
The origins of #TrashTag
UCO Gear, a company that makes camping equipment, created #trashtag a few years ago. It all began when ambassadors from the company embarked on a hiking trip and kept finding litter everywhere they went. They photographed picking up every single piece of litter and shared their story online.
The UCO Gear ambassadors started #trashtag in the hopes other people would jump on board. Their mission was to make a huge impact on the environment. If everyone who saw their #trashtag posts pitched in, the community could eradicate thousands of pieces of garbage from nature.
Just last year, #trashtag made a resurgence. One man named Byron Roman took the clever idea and ran with it. He posted before/after photos of a landscape once covered in trash, and the difference was astounding. Soon after that, selfies with a single piece of litter turned into people standing next to dozens of bags filled with trash.
The garbage trend that swept the world
The #trashtag trend is reaching communities all over the world. In his viral post, Roman tagged the #BasuraChallenge to get people outside the United States involved with the trend. Basura translates to “trash” in Spanish. All of a sudden, the internet began seeing #trashtag posts from places like Nepal!
Thanks to the interconnectivity of social media, #trashtag instantly became a global trend. Anyone can make a difference, no matter who they are or where they live. And the world doesn’t have to wait months or years to see that difference take hold. With social media, it happens instantly.
Keep #TashTag going strong
Taking care of the environment shouldn’t just be a trend. Internet challenges get their fifteen minutes of fame before people move on to something else. But #trashtag doesn’t have to be that way. Bring #trashtag into 2020 so people know that cleaning up the Earth is always relevant!
It takes an individual like you to decide what’s trending. Create a #trashtag post even if most people left that hashtag in 2019. Inspire others in your community to do the same. Every single effort counts toward a cleaner environment.
If #trashtag made an impact on your life, that’s what matters. One act of kindness for the Earth gives you feel-good vibes that make you want to do even more. Let that feeling of accomplishment be the momentum that inspires many acts of kindness in the future.
How can you participate?
It’s simple. Find a spot in your community that could use some cleaning up. This could be a river bank or the side of a highway. Go about your day and keep your eyes peeled for spots of nature that are littered with trash. Once you’ve found a spot, snap a photo of it.
Now, get to cleaning! You can do this by yourself, but it’s always more fun with friends. Get as many people to help out as possible. It’s like the saying goes: many hands make light work. The more friends that help, the more trash you can pick up.
Once you’ve finished the job, take a picture of your hard work. Seeing the before/after photos side by side will put a smile on everyone’s face. The difference between how that river bank used to look compared to now will be like night and day!
Finally, share your success. Upload the before/after photos to social media with #trashtag in the caption. It doesn’t matter how many likes or re-tweets the post gets. If one of your followers continues the trend, then you’ve done it right.
The #trashtag doesn’t always require planning. You could be walking across town and find a candy wrapper on the sidewalk. No impact is too small. A before/after shot of picking up just one piece of litter would make a great #trashtag post. If anything, it shows how easy it is to participate in the trend!
The #trashtag challenge is like no other. It doesn’t involve eating Tide Pods or sticking pennies into power outlets. Only good can come from cleaning up the Earth. The #trashtag is easy, and everyone can—and should—do it.
