Plogging

Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter (merging the Swedish verbs plocka upp (pick up) and jogga (jog) gives the new Swedish verb plogga, from which the word plogging derives).[1] It started as an organized activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. As a workout, it provides variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the main action of running, hiking, or walking.[2][3][4] Plogging is considered a perfect activity, as it's positive both for the body, and for the environment.[5] An estimated 20,000 people Plog daily in 100 countries and some plogging events have attracted over 3,000,000 participants. [6][7]

A woman bending to pick up litter while a man jogs alongside with a garbage bag at a plogging event in Kent, England

Examples and initiatives

Erik Ahlström started plogging in the Swedish capital city, Stockholm, when he moved there from the Åre ski resort. He created the website Plogga to organise the activity and encourage volunteers.[8]

In Alicante, Spain, plogging came with the name Plogging RRevolution with the aim of spreading the movement throughout the country to promote sports and environmental care.

Author David Sedaris combines litter picking with exercise in the Parham, Coldwaltham and Storrington districts of West Sussex, taking up to 60,000 steps a day in pursuit of local rubbish.[9] He was so effective in keeping his neighbourhood clean that the local authority named a waste vehicle in his honour.[10] The Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, Susan Pyper, said "The sign on this truck is a very fitting way to say a huge ‘thank you’ to David for his tireless efforts ... he is a real local hero."[11]

The Keep America Beautiful organisation is now promoting plogging to its affiliates and has found that some already combined exercise with clean up, such as the Trashercize program in Tennessee.[1] In New York, a Meetup group, Plogging NYC, had about 100 members in 2018, with events in four boroughs.[12] In Indianapolis in 2018, a Summer of Plogging was organised by the November Project and the local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.[13]

National Cleanup Day advocates plogging as a way to clean up and keep the outdoors clean and maintains the Plogging.org website in support of organizations holding plogging events.

There is a group in Oakland, CA, called Fit4Good that aims to pick up trash around Lake Merritt each week.

The Indian PM, Narendra Modi, has plogged to lead by example for his Swachh Bharat Mission to clean up India.[14][15]

Pune Ploggers founded by Vivek Gurav is the largest community of ploggers in a single city with more than 500 routine ploggers throughout Pune, and has collected more than 40,000 kilograms of plastic.[16] In December 2019 the organization coordinated the largest plogging drive, with 105,000 people involved who collected 19,000 kilograms of trash in 1 hour.[17][18]

A non-profit initiative called Go Plog![19] has collected 16 Tonnes of dry waste in Kolar through plogging. They organise an event every month. Students to high-ranking officials of the local administration participate.

See also
  • Plogging
  • The result of 1 h of plogging in Gothenburg (Sweden) on July 11, 2019.
  • The result of 1 h of plogging in Fräntorp (Sweden) on May 31, 2020.
  • The result of 1 h of plogging in Sävedalen (Sweden) on May 29, 2020.
  • Wrapping up the plogging session at the local recycling station, Gothenburg (Sweden) on July 11, 2019. Here recycling plastic containers.
  • Unwieldy or dangerous plogging-derived finds are best reported to the local authorities for removal (car wreck outside Gothenburg, Sweden on March 21, 2019).

References
  1. Klein, Allison (February 23, 2018). "'Plogging' is the Swedish fitness craze for people who want to save the planet. It's making its way to the U.S." The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  2. Frymorgen, Tomasz (January 30, 2018). "Plogging is the latest Scandinavian lifestyle trend to rock your world". BBC. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  3. Ross, Peter (February 19, 2018). "A rubbish way to get fit – why I loved going 'plogging'". The Guardian. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  4. Morrissy-Swan, Tomé (February 1, 2018). "Is 'plogging' the most 2018 fitness trend yet?". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  5. "Have You Ever Tried Plogging?". Doc Journals. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  6. "'Plogging', the running that mixes ecology and sport". Iberdrola.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  7. "Shri Kiren Rijiju announces Ripu Daman Bevli as Plogging Ambassador of India on 50th Fit India Plogging Run". India Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. December 5, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  8. Noe, Rain (February 2, 2018). "New Swedish Fitness Trend, "Plogging," Combines Jogging with Picking Up Litter". Core77. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  9. Lytton, Charlotte (February 6, 2018). "Plogging: the fitness trend with a social conscience". The Age. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  10. Dowling, Tim (July 31, 2014). "David Sedaris? Who? Oh, you mean the local litter-picker". The Guardian. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  11. "South Downs litter picker has truck named after him". West Sussex Gazette. July 28, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  12. Marx, Patricia (August 20, 2018). "Saving the Planet and Your Glutes". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  13. Smith, Rachel (July 15, 2018). "Plogging? You know, when you jog and pick up litter at the same time". IndyStar. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  14. PM goes plogging on TN beach, gives Swachh & Fit India drives a big boost, Times of India, 13 October 2019.
  15. PM Modi receives Global Goalkeeper award for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, The Hindu, 25 Sept 2019.
  16. "How A Young Software Engineer Inspired A Group Of Pune Ploggers To Collect More Than 40,000 Kg Plastic From The City". indiatimes.com. 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  17. Dec 30, TNN |; 2019; Ist, 4:58. "One lakh citizens pick 19 tonnes of waste from 98 roads in PMC-driven plogging | Pune News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-12-30.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. Das, Deepannita (2020-04-17). "Vivek Gurav, A 24-YO Engineer Has Collected Over 40,000Kg Plastic, Adopted A River, And Counting". Life Beyond Numbers. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  19. "ಪ್ಲಾಸ್ಟಿಕ್ ಮುಕ್ತ ನಗರ ಸ್ವಚ್ಚತಾ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಚಾಲನೆ". Prajavani. 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
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