Plogging is a concept that became popular in Sweden, and is known as one of the most eco-positive activities one can do. The term “plogging” is a portmanteau of “plocka upp” (Swedish for “pick up”) and jogging, and is exactly what it sounds like. While getting your run/jog in, pick up trash along the way!
I don’t plog very often, but sometimes I feel like changing things up from my typical interval runs, long runs, and bike rides. Usually I observe how nasty the trails are while training and am inspired to clean things up a bit! I live in the Riverdale area, so I’ve done it a few times in Riverdale Park (hills are fun!), as well as a couple times on a running loop I do along Bayview Ave and the Don Trail.
For plogging, I bring a set of nitrile gloves (of course) as well as 1-2 garbage bags. I really should bring extra gloves in case a glove or two gets torn. I’ve found a lot of weird things plogging, including women’s panties, an insanely large number of masks (sigh…), socks, and pieces of toboggans.
Usually I get the bag filled within 30 mins or so, though sometimes it’s less or more time than that depending on how bad it is. On one of my more recent plogging excursions, I brought two bags with me, and filled up the first bag within 20 mins. No bins nearby, so I had to run past a bunch of trash with the full bag for over a kilometer until I found a bin to throw the bag in (therein lies part of the problem for discarded trash in Toronto – lack of bins! The other part is indifference, but I digress..). I then returned a couple days later to “fill in the gap” that I had to skip, so we got it done in the end! 🙂
My favorite part of plogging (other than the good feeling of helping keep the green spaces green!) is interacting with the public on the trails and hearing their words of encouragement. Three of my favorite interactions:
- I was running up and down the hill at Riverdale and a guy noticed what I was doing, and insisted on paying me $5 for my efforts! I’ve saved this for buying supplies like gloves and bags for the future.
- Another time I was working out at Riverdale, and saw two guys around my age picking up trash. After my workout I approached them and said hello and what a great job they were doing. They noted that they had seen me plogging earlier in the week and were inspired! Feels great to send a positive message and encourage others to join in the fun!
- More recently, on the Bayview trail, a gentleman on a bike (Rocco) stopped and commended my efforts. He had seen me earlier in the week as well. He was very keen on helping promote my efforts so I will be getting in touch with him soon!
Veg 'n' Alpine 