Plogging... or picking litter while you jog

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Plogging SwedenPlogging is a new concept in and from Sweden that hopefully is going to make its way to other places as well. Plogging is the Swedish word, or better the English translation for it, for just picking up trash while you are out jogging.

It is also super easy. Just bring a plastic bag with you on your next run, walk, hike or trailrun and just pick any trash you might find a long you way, so it it not just for joggers.

If everyone going out for a walk, walking the dog (yes, and please pick up your dog's mess as well), would do this there would be a great deal less litter in our parks, countryside, towns and villages. Fair enough, if people would actually not throw their littler away outside but dispose of it properly there would be less still.

In the Summer of 2017 the 1st official plog run in Örebro and about 15 persons turned up at Naturens Hus. They split up into 3 groups and headed out in different directions. An hour later they all met up again to put all the trash they found in larger plastic bags.

All in all they collected around 10-12 kg of trash during that plog and found everything from cigarettes, napkins, plastic containers to broken bottles. And that while that is a area of Örebro that is considered one of the cleanest places in town.

In the large local park with which I am concerned a number of responsible dog walkers not only pick up their dog's waste but also pick litter on their rounds, while there are other people who simply walk in the park who do this too.

As I said earlier, if everyone would do just a little of that when walking or hiking, etc., things would begin to look a great deal better and a lot less little would find its way into water courses and the sea. Better still, as mentioned, if people would actually start to learn to be responsible and take better care of their litter things would be much better still.

It is not the fault of the plastic bottle that it ends up in the river nor the fault of the plastic bag that it ends up in a tree. The fault lies with inconsiderate and lazy people who cannot be bothered to dispose off their trash in the proper manner.

© 2018