After the Ice Bucket Challenge—pouring a bucket of ice water over your head—and the Bird Box Challenge inspired by the Netflix film, where participants blindfold themselves while performing daily tasks, another social media trend deserves particular attention: the #Trashtag Challenge (from hashtag and trash). This movement has now arrived on Facebook posts across Cambodia.

Ecology is a defining concern of contemporary society. Waste collection sits at its heart. In Cambodia, however, waste management remains inadequate. According to Le Petit Journal Cambodge, 36% of poor communities in Phnom Penh, for example, lack access to waste collection services. Garbage trucks simply don't reach these neighborhoods. Mountains of trash accumulate on certain streets of the capital.

Toppling the First Domino

Cambodians, a people deeply engaged with social media, have glimpsed a glimmer of hope on Facebook. Young people, primarily, have taken up the #Trashtag Challenge—a movement that involves photographing yourself in a location overrun with waste, cleaning it entirely, and capturing a second image of the now-pristine space, surrounded by full garbage bags.

In Cambodia, activists began by tackling the Boeung Trabek canal in Phnom Penh. Ironically, this particularly foul-smelling waterway replenishes its burden of trash daily, as though this arm of the canal could never be touched by some divine hand of purity.

A handful of social media posts emerged following the first cleanup operation at Boeung Trabek canal. This movement could expand and inspire every citizen to make a gesture, however small, photographed, published, and shared repeatedly across their respective Facebook pages. Citizens and perhaps even political influencers—who knows what might unfold.