Photo by Alex McCarthy on Unsplash
Happy Plastic-Free July! Throughout the month, our posts will be (however vaguely) connected to the plastic crisis and what we can do to help fix it. First up - Holly is here to tell you all about plogging!
What is plogging?
‘Plogging’ is picking litter whilst jogging, or, more generally, it just means combining exercise with cleaning up the environment. The trend began in Sweden in 2016 (the original portmanteau merges the Swedish verbs plocka upp and jogga) and has seen a new rise in COVID-19, as exercise outside became one of the few safe and legal activities. Plogging is great, because it is a way of caring for the environment whilst getting some exercise, and vice versa. I am certainly a big fan of activities that tick many boxes and have many benefits, and this is no exception: it helps with exercise and the environment, of course, but it can also come under social, volunteering, and general wellbeing.
Good places to plog in and around Fallowfield
The popular areas to hang out and enjoy some greenery are also the places that tend to suffer from the most litter (especially in the summer and post exam season):
- Platt Fields Park
- Birchfields
- Whitworth Park
- Alexandra Park
- The edges of Fletcher Moss
- Old Moat Park
- Ladybarn Park
- Fallowfield Loop
Top Tips for Safe and Successful Plogging
1. Decide on your technique: either commit to a running/litter-picking-as-you-go combo or run to a spot, pick litter for five minutes and then run to the next spot, a little bit like Fartlek training.
2. Use a rucksack or carrier bag, alternating between each arm to avoid an injury.
3. Go for light stuff. Glass bottles are less damaging to the wildlife than small bits of plastic, and this will make it easier to carry, too.
4. Have a healthcare survival kit in your backpack, just in case you get a streaming nose from the cold or some other minor incident after you’ve been touching litter. Just your basics like hand sanitiser, tissues and plasters.
5. Use a litter pick or gardening gloves to avoid touching the litter. If you’re using gloves then you’ll probably prefer the Fartlek training style, and can incorporate squats/lunges to pick things up from the ground!
6. Go with friends. If you haven’t been litter picking before or don’t enjoy exercising alone, tick another box and bring a friend. I’ve done quite a lot of plogging before where I picked litter while my friends roller skated around me - worked a treat!
3. Go for light stuff. Glass bottles are less damaging to the wildlife than small bits of plastic, and this will make it easier to carry, too.
4. Have a healthcare survival kit in your backpack, just in case you get a streaming nose from the cold or some other minor incident after you’ve been touching litter. Just your basics like hand sanitiser, tissues and plasters.
5. Use a litter pick or gardening gloves to avoid touching the litter. If you’re using gloves then you’ll probably prefer the Fartlek training style, and can incorporate squats/lunges to pick things up from the ground!
6. Go with friends. If you haven’t been litter picking before or don’t enjoy exercising alone, tick another box and bring a friend. I’ve done quite a lot of plogging before where I picked litter while my friends roller skated around me - worked a treat!
Well, I hope this little introduction to plogging has been interesting! If you’re already a jogger or a litter-picker, why not try incorporating an element of the other into your routine? Or start afresh with both at once, if they’re completely new to you. Remember, every little helps - happy plogging!
Comment here or get in touch via Facebook or Instagram if you have any thoughts, extra tips for us or photos to share!
Author: Holly
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