Residents pick up trash on World Cleanup Day

At least 4,000 local residents joined a worldwide cleanup campaign on Saturday, the day of the World Cleanup Day.

They cleaned up trash in neighborhoods, bustling roads and popular attractions.

Of them, about 80 volunteers traveled long way to the remote Nanhuizui Guanhai Park, an emerging destination for weekend getaway in the coastal Lingang area of the Pudong New Area. At the scene, they picked up so many garbage, mostly used tissue, empty bottles and plastic bags hidden in the bushes, according to the organizer and green organization Pick up China.

It is the first year for China to join in the campaign and about 100,000 Chinese people joined the five-hour cleanup operation around the nation. Across the world, the campaign attracted 13 million green advocates from 156 countries, according to Pick up China.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the environmental protection and promote the idea of garage sorting. It was initiated by non-profit group Let’s do it! in Estonia in 2008 and soon gained popularity around the world.

“Cleaning beaches and public areas sounds like something that has been done before. But our mission is not just about cleaning, but to actually stop this problem once and for all,” said Heidi Solba, senior official of the Let’s Do It!