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] An estimated 2,000,000 people plog daily in 100 countries and some plogging events have attracted over 3,000,000 participants.[5][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

Similar to plogging, pliking is a combination of picking up litter with hiking and/or biking.[8][9]

Examples and initiatives

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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.[10]

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.[11] He was so effective in keeping his neighbourhood clean that the local authority named a waste vehicle in his honour.[12] 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."[13]

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.[14] In Indianapolis in 2018, a Summer of Plogging was organised by the November Project and the local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.[15]

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

Ripu Daman Bevli, introduced the concept of plogging in India and he is known as the Plogman of India.[16][17] He commenced Litter Free India movement, which combines Swachh Bharat and FIT India missions.[18][19] Till March 2021, Bevli has organized more than 500 cleanups across 80 cities under the Litter Free India movement, which has seen a participation of close to 1 crore (10 million) people.[20] The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has plogged to lead by example for his Swachh Bharat Mission to clean up India.[21][22]

Benefits

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A scientific study from 2022 found that plogging and jogging are comparable in terms of energy expenditure, but that the proportion of energy coming from fat is significantly higher in plogging.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ "Plogging / Plogga". National CleanUp Day. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  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. ^ Baptista, Edelinda (14 May 2021). "Show Mother Nature How Much You Love Her at Plike Newport". Rhode Island Monthly. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  9. ^ "8 Awesome Things to Do This Week in Guangzhou". That's. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  10. ^ Noe, Rain (February 2, 2018). "New Swedish Fitness Trend, "Plogging," Combines Jogging with Picking Up Litter". Core77. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  11. ^ Lytton, Charlotte (February 6, 2018). "Plogging: the fitness trend with a social conscience". The Age. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  12. ^ Dowling, Tim (July 31, 2014). "David Sedaris? Who? Oh, you mean the local litter-picker". The Guardian. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  13. ^ "South Downs litter picker has truck named after him". West Sussex Gazette. July 28, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  14. ^ Marx, Patricia (August 20, 2018). "Saving the Planet and Your Glutes". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  15. ^ Smith, Rachel (July 15, 2018). "Plogging? You know, when you jog and pick up litter at the same time". IndyStar. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  16. ^ "Cleaning up is not enough, we have to stop littering: Ripu Daman Bevli". The Indian Express. 2021-03-13. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  17. ^ Upreti, Payel Majumdar (23 February 2021). "'People look at trash ... and think it is someone else's problem'". @businessline. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  18. ^ "Shri Kiren Rijiju announces Ripu Daman Bevli as Plogging Ambassador of India on 50th Fit India Plogging Run". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  19. ^ "Country's First Plogger Ripu Daman Bevli Felicitated By Central Government As Fit India Ambassador For Plogging | News". NDTV-Dettol Banega Swasth Swachh India. 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  20. ^ "500 Clean Ups, 150 Tons of Waste, 80 Cities: Delhi Man Is Helping India Turn Litter-Free". The Better India. 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  21. ^ PM goes plogging on TN beach, gives Swachh & Fit India drives a big boost, Times of India, 13 October 2019.
  22. ^ PM Modi receives Global Goalkeeper award for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, The Hindu, 25 Sept 2019.
  23. ^ Raghavan R, Panicker VV, Emmatty FJ (2022). "Ergonomic risk and physiological assessment of plogging activity". Work. 72 (4): 1337–1348. doi:10.3233/WOR-205210. PMID 35723137. S2CID 249830884.
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