Running and jogging have always been viewed as healthy pursuits — now, thanks to the new running trend ‘plogging’, it’s proving to be good for the planet too. To commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Wednesday, the Government of India has organised several two-km-long runs to promote plogging across the country.
Running is not only good for health, it is also an opportunity to exercise the body, clear the head and socialise with fellow runners. So why not club this opportunity to run with picking up those plastic bottles or plastic bags caught in the trees? “There’s a new fitness trend that’s more productive than running, and it’s called plogging — picking up trash while jogging. For people who jog/run regularly, it’s great to introduce a bit of variety into your sessions. This is a good way of doing something different, while also benefitting the community. Quite a few joggers have already taken it upon themselves to pick up litter when they see it in their running spots. Having a whole group of runners doing this regularly could make a real difference to parks, paths and pavements,” says Samuel Sudhakar of Hyderabad Runners.
A clean city and clean surroundings begin with a responsible citizen. Apart from civic authorities doing their job, we need to ask ourselves, “Are we doing enough and taking equal responsibility to keep our city clean?”
Plogging is a fad that is currently sweeping the world, but for Dr Chandrashekar Ramineni who runs regularly, it is nothing new. He always picks up litter and puts it in a drawstring bag he carries with him while jogging. “The trails in the Himalayas are popular due to media coverage, but as the number of trekkers increase, so are the plastic and other non-degradable wastes. As responsible trekkers, we were given small waste collection bags which we used to collect waste along the trail and deposit with the trek lead in the evening. In our seven-day long trek, we collected lots of chocolate wrappers, food wrappers and bottles,” recalls Dr Ramineni.
Started by Swedish based jogger Eric Ahlström in 2016, plogging has gained immense popularity among environmentalists and joggers alike. “Joggers and walkers, let’s plog our way to a cleaner and healthier environment. Starting today, let’s pull the plug on plastic,” urges ace marathoner Rachel Chatterjee.
