Volunteers pick up trash on World Cleanup Day

On Saturday morning, Shanghai citizen Zhang Minghua brought her five-grade daughter to one of the plogging activities in Jing'an district where they picked up trash such as cigarette butts and plastic bottles along a planned five-kilometer jogging route.

"I didn't know about World Cleanup Day before, but I think it's very meaningful. It's a good education and exercise opportunity for my daughter," said Zhang.

"If everyone throws away just one piece of garbage, our world will be a messy place, but if everyone picks up one piece of trash, we can help create a cleaner environment," Zhang told her daughter.

Su Yige, a sustainable lifestyle vlogger, also attended the event to shoot a video about World Cleanup Day.

"Some people think that it's pointless to pick up garbage just one day per year," Su said. "But I think the meaning of any annual event is that we can raise public awareness through activities. Just because we give flowers to our lovers on Valentine's Day doesn't mean we don't love them on the other days."

Wang said the environmental protection efforts, such as the solid waste management regulation introduced in 2019 by the Shanghai municipal government, has made more people pay attention to the mounting trash problem in big cities.

"We hope more people can bring the good habit of trash sorting beyond their homes and communities to the public space," she added.