Plogging: The new Swedish workout to save your environment

You know jogging, the exercise where people run at a slow pace. Plogging, on the other hand, is a Swedish import, the amalgamation of jogging and picking up trash. Derived from the Swedish words “polka skräp” (picking up trash) or “polcka upp” (picking up) and “jogga” (jog). This new fitness trend keeps us as well as the Earth healthy.

Plogging as a trend started in Sweden last year and is the brainchild of environmentalist Erik Ahlström. Erik got the idea for plogging when he shifted to Stockholm from the north of Sweden and saw the massive amount of litter on the streets. This new environmentally conscious workout is fast spreading throughout the world thanks to social media platforms, with people from around the world and now India joining in, in picking up trash on their daily runs.

If you’re a true fitness enthusiast, there’s all the more reason for you to jump onto the bandwagon as 30 min of plogging helps burn 288 calories per average person as compared to 235 when one jogs. (A brisk walk while picking up trash for 30 min can burn up to 120 calories per person).

India produces more than 1,00,000 tonnes of solid waste everyday. Even though we as a country claim to recycle 60% of its waste more than 40% of the waste produced is littered around the streets. These figures showcase just how lax we as citizens are when it comes to the cleanliness of our cities.

One Indian platform aimed at promoting fitness and cleanliness through their drives is “Ploggers of India”. They believe in spreading awareness about the environment and motivate people to take responsibility towards protecting the environment themselves rather than blaming the authorities or the government.

“In that context, we believe that understanding how we are adding to the trash situation first is even more important than cleaning up,” said Ripu Daman, the man behind Ploggers of India in a statement provided to Iamrenew.

Ploggers of India aims at building a community of ploggers across India by reaching out on social media and holding regular drives in Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Kerala among others. They have recently started the #100daysofplogging drive along with school kids which they like to call “Workout With a Heart”.

If you’d like to join one of the drives organised by “Ploggers of India” or have any queries regarding plogging feel free to get in touch with them via their Instagram handle at @ploggersofindia or @ripudaman_explorer.

It’s time we come to together and take matters into our own hands as change starts with us, cause together we can build a cleaner India.

Links: Ploogers of India, Plogging