Last month, the World Plogging Championship – an event that combines physical activity with respect for the environment - took place in Genoa, Italy.
It featured an opening ceremony in which contestants wielded their national flags, in a special parade featuring flag bearers from Italy, Algeria, Argentina, Ghana, Japan, Greece, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay. Contestants ran through the paths of the Ligurian main city, bonding together for environmental awareness as they picked up litter.
A new record was set at the championship this year, in its third year running. The event ended with the collection of around 3,000 kg of litter, including more than 2,000 kg, or 71 per cent of the total, already sent for recycling, compared with 1,152kg recovered at the end of the 2022 competition and 795kg collected in 2021, the first year of the event.
This year, the UK was represented for the first time, by Luke Douglas-Home, who was spotted quietly jogging and picking up litter on a Norfolk beach. He was invited to take part.
"I'd never heard of it. Of course it sounds totally daft and absurd, but I thought it was a good cause, so I entered," he said. "Though I'd had no idea it was actually a thing…"
So what is plogging?
What is plogging?
Plogging is jogging and litter picking. The term comes from the Swedish term plogga – a combination of jogga, Swedish for jog, and plocka up, which means to pick up.
At the championships, the athletes are judged on the ground covered, the environmental cost of the waste they retrieve (a crisp packet would score low, a car battery would score higher), and the altitude at which it is collected.
How long has plogging been around?
Plogging was born in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. An estimated 2,000,000 people plog daily in 100 countries and some plogging events have attracted over 3,000,000 participants.
The movement was started by Erik Ahlström in the Swedish capital city, Stockholm, when he moved from the Åre ski resort.
He created the website Plogga to organise the activity and encourage volunteers.
Meanwhile in Alicante, Spain, plogging was born with the name Plogging RRevolution to spread the movement throughout the country to promote sports and environmental care.
There are huge benefits to plogging, in fact, 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.
So how can you get involved?
How can I get involved?
Local running groups are great ways to find local plogging enthusiasts. Check platforms like Facebook or start your own plogging page for your local area. You can also post advertisements online or on notice boards at your gym, community centres, etc.
Some local councils share information on starting litter picking groups in your area and tips on staying safe.
Back in 2019 for example, Michelle Parkes and Dermot Kavanagh, co-founders of Plogolution started up a local community plogging group.
The pair organised their first ‘plog’ in Putney in July 2018, offering both a 5K run and 2K walk. Sixteen people took part and filled more than 30 bags of rubbish.
