I have been looking for some activity to replace the Saturday walks I used to host, and I think I may have found something!
It’s plogging.
What?
Wait, here me out.
Plogging is an idea straight out of Sweden (of course) which combines picking up trash (plocka upp) with jogging (jogga) to describe an outdoor activity in which you clean up litter while out on your walk, run, or jog (plogga).
It incorporates cleaning up the outdoors while exercising, whatever your choice. You can do it on land and incorporate all kinds of moves, like squatting, reaching, and bending to get your workout while you help clean up your corner of the planet. You can also plog on the waterways, in a canoe or kayak. Who hasn’t seen plastic bags and bottles in our waterways. It is unsightly and dangerous for animals who live in the wild.
Plogga was started in 2016 in Stockholm and has since grown globally, embraced by organizations such as Keep America Beautiful and the Earth Day Network. Plogging is found in over 100 countries and is growing with new groups setting up every day.
In Alicante, Spain the ploggers are ardently spreading this environmental exercise movement throughout the region, through the Plogging RRevolution group.
In Tennesee, there is a Trashercize fitness group and a meetup group in NYC devoted to plogging.
One of my favorite funnymen, David Sedaris, plogs regularly in his area of West Sussex, in the UK, and logs over 60,000 steps daily to accomplish his plogga goals. In fact, he was so diligent in his neighborhood upkeep, they named a waste vehicle after him.
What a great idea right now, since we just celebrated Earth Day last week, with the theme being Invest in Our Planet, encompassing 5 different themes, global trash cleanup being one of them.
Remember back in the ‘70’s when the term “litterbug” and the slogan “every litter bit hurts” were coined? I was excited as a kid back then to think that picking up trash would make a difference.
Now, it is imperative that we pick up the trash, and then some. I keep hearing we only have ten years to turn this around before it is too late.
So here is the ask. Who would like to be part of a plogging group? Are you ready to walk, run, jog, skateboard, or paddle and clean up the environment while you do it? I thought so. Contact me if you have a great idea for where to start in your neighborhood.
I will be putting an event together for Saturday, May 7, as our kickoff, so please check out Teeming Health events for plogga updates in the next week. And save the date for National Clean Up Day on September 17. Let’s make a difference together.