The past 15th of september has different meanings to all of us. To some, it might be the day your annoying little sibling finally left for school or the international couch-potato day which happens to be everyday.

For some people, the date was a little more significant -insert sarcastic tone here-. After a long polluted and blue summer, a worldwide sensation came to life! Awareness rose from the ashes and the biggest cleaning campaign in history was finally planned. The idea aims mainly towards collecting solid litter together as fellow human beings.

The day ironically resembles that infamous sunday at home when the decision of a thorough cleanup arises and everything and everyone enters panic mode!

Panic mode arrived in Tunisia with a fancy pantsy name « Zebletna »! This sexy name brought together many litter hoarders from all over the country! Some were merely groups of 4 to 5 samaritans as advised by the event but many were non-profits that decided to direct their manpower towards a pressing issue! NGOs like ABAST, zabaltouna (300 km) and many others were first in line to engage people in something unprecedented.

Where do the authorities stand in all of this? The event was in fact in collaboration with local city halls. They provided some logistics like cleanup utensils and trucks.

Now the big question: what’s next ?

The collected litter was in fact seperated and recycled by recycling organizations. Here are some fun numbers for you to crunch!

What was once 8 tons of plastic and 13 tons of glass turned into school supplies for all of the pupils of « Aouled Khemisa » primary school in Ain Drahem.

Ever heard of the saying « One man’s junk, another man’s treasure »? This is a perfect depiction!

Gold was milked out of recycling that junk and changed the lives of many children in need! What we lack is awareness and a huge sense of empathy. If the whole concept was popularized, imagine what impact it would’ve had on the lives of thousands of people.

But, change is happening in small magnitutes . The impact of a tiny campaign changed the world in the eyes of the children of « Aouled Khemisa » because « Zebletna » was indeed their treasure !