Many potentially dangerous viral challenges have taken the web by storm. However, a new online trend is proving to be a safer and more purposeful one. Although it was originally coined in 2015 by clothing company UCO, Hashtag Trashtag has just started to catch on. With much of the world's ocean plastic pollution coming from Southeast Asia, the hashtag is inspiring people from the region to pick up trash. CGTN's Barnaby Lo reports from Manila.

Manila Bay hasn't lost its reputation for golden sunsets, but in recent years, it's become rather infamous for the trash that washes up on its shores. Earlier this year, however, the Philippine government announced a plan to rehabilitate the capital's bay area.

A ceremonial cleanup in January kicked off the campaign and it has since inspired volunteers, like these firefighters, to sustain the cleanup efforts almost on a weekly basis.

LEONARD BAÑAGO BUREAU OF FIRE PROTECTION DIRECTOR "We are inspiring all members of the agency to do this work and also to apply this in their respective areas of jurisdiction in order for us to save Mother Earth for the next generation."

That's exactly what hashtag Trashtag, a new viral sensation that has people collecting garbage and posting before and after photos, aims to achieve. Filipinos have been tagging dirty and spotless versions of Manila Bay with the hashtag.

BARNABY LO MANILA "Whether it's the viral trashtag challenge that's inspiring this cleanup or the other way around, the cleanup that's inspiring the hashtag, what's important is that it's raising awareness about the scourge of plastic wastes, and not just here in the Philippines, but in other places as well."

And, as if coinciding with the growing popularity of the Trashtag Challenge, a whale with 40 kilos of plastic in its stomach was recently found in the Southern Philippines reinforcing the urgency of Trashtag's message. 

Barnaby Lo, CGTN, Manila.