Looking at all the litter being thrown away in the streets, oceans, rivers, and seas, it is clear that we are all heading in the wrong direction. Recent studies show that we, as the human race, have a few years before we all reach a place of no return in terms of degrading the environment. Many people have tried to come up with ideas to solve this menace, but we would not exactly say they have been successful. Some have lasted a few days, while others last a little longer. However, there is one campaign that has caught the world’s attention and pushed numerous people to take care of the environment. This campaign is known as #Trashtag, and its popularity is set to deal with the garbage menace properly. Here we will look at what the #TrashTag trend is, and everything related to it.
#TrashTag Trend
This is a popular social media challenge that was developed to compel people to clean their surroundings and dispose of the waste properly. A person was expected to look for places where there was a lot of trash and take a picture. Once the photo was taken, the person was expected to clean up the area and take a picture after cleaning it up.After that, the person was expected to share the two photos (before/after clean-up) on social media to convince other people to clean up their surroundings.
Where #TrashTag Started?
The campaign was an idea that was conceived by UCO Gear in 2015. UCO is an acronym for Utility, Comfort, and Originality. With 40 years of experience in the manufacturing industry, the company prides itself on making top-notch products for outdoor living. The main aim is for the items produced by UCO to help you have a safe and comfortable experience when you are exploring outdoor spaces. One of the products made by UCO Gdeear is the original candle lantern. The device offers excellent functionality and simplicity every time it is put into use. There are also stormproof matches that help people in any situation while they are out exploring the world. Basically, UCO Gear is passionate about what it does and does it correctly. With extensive experience in the outdoor spaces, the company decided to combat a problem they had seen a lot, and that was widespread of trash in different areas. That is what compelled them to start the #TrashTag challenge and to place the project on Instagram. Part of making the project a big thing was inviting a team of brand ambassadors. The ambassadors were expected to clean up trash and spread the word about the challenge. They were also tasked with the duty of encouraging people to pick up trash they find along the way.
Byron Roman Grows the #TrashTag Challenge
When UCO came up with the project, it did not gain a lot of popularity. It was until Byron Roman took the mantle and made the challenge a global sensation. Through the power of social media, Byron made people from all parts of the world embrace cleaning and taking care of the environment. Byron Roman said that all of this started when his friend in Guatemala posted an image showing a place before cleaning and after cleaning it up. The difference was that the friend posted the image on social media and captioned it in Spanish. All Byron had to do was take the same photo, change the caption to English so that it reaches a broader audience, and challenge people to do the same. The last part of his caption read, “………….Here is a new challenge for all of you bored teens.” He completed the post by tagging #TrashTag.After sharing the post, people started noticing the challenge, and it went viral. Thousands of people from all parts of the world started showing up for cleaning exercises and posting the photos online. Almost every place you could think of was cleaned, from parks to schools, streets, beaches, and many more. Byron told TIME that he had an idea to help teenagers make a difference on the internet. To implement the plan, he thought of picking up the #TrashTag challenge and make a positive impact using it.
Conclusion
Getting people behind a campaign is not easy, especially if it involves handling trash. Even with all the odds against him, Byron Roman still did it. He made the #TrashTag challenge go viral, and in turn, this made the world a cleaner place to live in.The #TrashTag Challenge was originally conceived by UCO gear, but it failed to take off. It was until Bryon picked it up and made people from all over the world clean their surroundings. If this goes on, Byron, through the tag, is set to change the world for the better.
