Young Palauans accept viral #TrashtagChallenge. (Photo Courtesy of Herson Ngirairikl)

The viral online challenge that is encouraging youngsters from all over the globe to engage in mass cleanup drive had reached Palau as well.

A young Palauan man, Herson Ngirairikl, posted several photos on Facebook which showed different spots in Palau that were littered with garbage transformed into a litter-free area after he and youth members from his church cleaned up the space.

Ngirairikl, who is a Social Studies teacher at Aimeliik Elementary School and a representative of Aimeliik Evangelical Church youth, told Island Times that the cleanup drive was initiated by the youth members from his church who collected trash along the compact road.

The group started picking up trash from Sechersoi, Ngerderar to the main intersection road to Aimeliik.

Funds they earned from the trash they collected will also be used to give back to the community, according to Ngiraisikl.

Ngirairikl shared that they were also able to collect debris from a car accident at Ngerderar. Their group also found bags of trash that were just thrown out on the roadside.

Five groups composed of four members each cleaned up the areas for four hours, Ngiraisikl said. However, Ngirairikl added that immediately after they cleaned up the area, they observed new trash on the side of the compact road where they had just cleaned up.

“Palau’s environment, and its sustainability, is key to continuous self-sufficiency for both individual citizens and Belau. Our kids’ future is on the line. If adults like me turn a blind eye on the health of our environment; I am also turning a blind eye on my kid’s future,” Ngirairikl said.

“We see kids on the internet pleading and begging politicians, countries and United Nations for environmental awareness yet little is done.  The youth have to be educated and trained to take charge of their own future,” he added.

It was since early March when the challenge went viral, making young people from different parts of the globe picked up trash from their respective communities and sharing before-and-after photos of their successful cleanup drives on various social media platforms.

The challenge had been ignited by a man from Arizona, Byron Román, who encouraged “bored teens” through a post in the social media to take part in the #TrashTagChallenge by taking a photo of an area that needs cleaning up and then taking a photo of the same area after it had been cleaned up and post it online.

Román, in various reports, however clarified that he did not originally come up with the challenge.

The TrashTag campaign was started by an outdoor gear company, ICU, in 2015 to encourage the public to commit to picking up trash.

The campaign, which was called #TrashTag Project, was originally the brainchild of UCO People Ambassador Steven Reinhold. (Rhealyn C. Pojas)